Early Discharge in Patients Undergoing Elbow Arthroscopy

Outpatient Versus Inpatient Continuous Brachial Plexus Block for Complex Arthroscopic Elbow Surgery: Safety and Functional Outcome

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01151241

Enrollment

Registered

2010-06-28

Start date

2010-07-31

Completion date

2014-12-31

Last updated

2015-02-24

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

Conditions

Elbow Arthroscopy Surgery

Keywords

elbow surgery, infraclavicular nerve block, continuous passive motion, ultrasound guided regional anesthesia, early discharge

Brief summary

Patients undergoing elbow arthroscopy surgery will receive standard anesthesia and analgesia (infraclavicular nerve block combined with general anesthesia for surgery; continuous infusion via infraclavicular catheter to day 3 post op). Patients in the experimental group will be discharged home after one day, with infraclavicular catheter in place; patients in the comparator group will stay in hospital for 3 or 4 days, per standard practice. The study will compare range of motion as the primary endpoint, in a non-inferiority design, to see if early discharge is feasible while providing similar recovery.

Interventions

PROCEDUREElbow arthroscopy with infraclavicular nerve block and continuous local anesthetic infusion to day 3 post op.

Patients undergoing elbow arthroscopy surgery will receive standard anesthesia/analgesia, including infraclavicular nerve block and general anesthesia for surgery followed by infraclavicular catheter infusion of local anesthetic until day 3 after surgery.

OTHEREarly Discharge

Patients will be discharged home on the first day after surgery, with infraclavicular catheter infusion of local anesthetic in place.

OTHERNormal Discharge

Patients will remain in hospital and be discharged per current discharge criteria, once the infraclavicular catheter has been removed on day 3 post op. Typical discharge occurs on day 3 or 4 post op.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Patients undergoing elective complex arthroscopic elbow surgery requiring postoperative CPM - synovectomy, capsulectomy, extensive debridement, contracture release, osteocapsular arthroplasty. * ASA I-III

Exclusion criteria

* Age\>65 * Cognitively challenged patients * Severe COPD * Patients who, on their own or with the assistance of a caregiver, are not confident of being able to remove the local anesthetic infusion catheter at home * Psychiatric history * Allergy to ropivacaine. * Opioid tolerance (\>60mg oral morphine or equivalent/day)

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Range of Motion	1 year	Range of motion at the elbow will be measured vs. baseline to determine surgical success.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Post-operative analgesia	3 days	Pain scores, by visual analogue scale, will be used to determine patient satisfaction with analgesia to day 3 after surgery.

Countries

Canada

Outcome results

None listed

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