Perineural Catheter Insertion Distance for Continuous Peripheral Nerve Blocks

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 4

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00997867

Enrollment

350

Registered

2009-10-19

Start date

2009-11-30

Completion date

2010-10-31

Last updated

2010-10-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Lower Extremity Surgery, Post-operative Pain, Upper Extremity Surgery

Keywords

Pain, Surgery, Catheter, Nerve Block, Popliteal, Sciatic, Femoral, Interscalene, UCSD, Moderate-to-severe pain, Perineural Catheter, Orthopedic Surgery

Brief summary

This is a research study to determine if the effects of continuous peripheral nerve blocks are influenced by the distance of insertion past the needle tip of the perineural catheter.

Detailed description

Specific Aim: Research study to determine the relationships between perineural catheter insertion distance and subsequent continuous peripheral nerve block effects. Hypothesis: during ultrasound-guided perineural catheter placement, inserting the catheter 0-1cm past the needle tip is associated with decreased postoperative pain compared with inserting the catheter 5-6cm past the needle tip.

Interventions

PROCEDURESciatic catheter left 0-1cm past needle tip vs. 5-6cm past needle tip

Patients undergoing orthopedic surgery who are getting a perineural catheter will be randomized to one of two groups: catheter tip placed 0-1cm past needle tip or catheter tip placed 5-6cm past needle tip. Patients will be called by research staff the day following surgery to assess their post-surgical pain using a numeric rating scale.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* undergoing surgery with a planned popliteal perineural catheter for postoperative analgesia * age 18 years or older

Exclusion criteria

* pregnancy * inability to communicate with the investigators and hospital staff * incarceration * clinical neuropathy in the surgical extremity * chronic high-dose opioid use * history of opioid abuse

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Average pain in the three hours previous to a phone call the day following surgery as measured on a numeric rating scale (0-10, 0=no pain, 10=worst imaginable pain).	Day 1 after surgery, 3 hours prior to phone call

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026