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Effectiveness of Continuous Femoral Nerve Block Versus Single Shot Femoral Nerve Block for Pain Control

Effectiveness of Continuous Femoral Nerve Block Versus Single Shot Femoral Nerve Block for Pain Control After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction With Patellar Tendon Graft or Allograft

Status
Terminated
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01916590
Enrollment
7
Registered
2013-08-05
Start date
2011-07-31
Completion date
2014-05-31
Last updated
2016-08-01

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

Conditions

Post-operative Pain

Keywords

Post-operative pain, Anterior Cruciate Ligament repair

Brief summary

Both single shot femoral nerve block and continuous femoral nerve block with catheter have been shown to be effective for pain control after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Continuous femoral nerve block may be the more effective of the two in reducing pain scores and opioid consumption for the first 48 hours postoperatively.

Detailed description

The number of ambulatory procedures has steadily increased over the last decade. Postoperative pain is the most common cause of delayed discharge and unexpected admission after ambulatory surgery. Knee surgery was identified as one of the procedures associated with the most pain at 24 hours, with a 45% or higher incidence of moderate or severe pain. Poor pain control can counteract many of the benefits of ambulatory surgery and can lead to the development of chronic pain. Regional techniques have been shown to be effective after ACL reconstruction, allowing faster patient recovery with fewer side-effects than intravenous administration of opioids. Different regional techniques have been applied and studied after ACLR. Femoral nerve block for ACLR either as a single bolus or as a continuous infusion markedly decreases intravenous analgesic requirements and postoperative pain. To the Investigator's knowledge, no study has compared these two techniques after ACLR with patellar tendon graft or allograft.

Interventions

After surgery before the patient is discharged home their femoral catheter will then be connected to the home pain pump filled with bupivacaine 0.25% solution (without epinephrine), and the infusion will be started at 6 ml/hr. gh the catheter.

DRUGplacebo

Sponsors

University of Colorado, Denver
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
20 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. American Society of Anesthesiologists score between 1-3 2. Scheduled to undergo Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction with patellar tendon graft or allograft under general anesthesia

Exclusion criteria

1. Localized infection of the groin or generalized sepsis. 2. Hypersensitivity or known allergy to local anesthetics. 3. Preexisting nerve damage in surgical limb. 4. History of chronic pain with either (a) daily opioid requirement exceeding the equivalent of 50 mg morphine or (b) daily prescription of tricyclic antidepressants, gabapentin, pregabalin, or tramadol for pain. 5. Patients who elect to have knee surgery under spinal anesthesia or who cannot undergo general anesthetic. 6. Patients who decline to have a femoral nerve block with catheter.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pain Scores Will be Collected for 48 Hours After ACL Reconstruction48 hours after surgeryPain scores will be collected for 48 hours after ACL reconstruction with a patellar tendon graft or allograft and used to measure the effectiveness of the femoral catheter vs. single shot femoral nerve block

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Bupivacaine
All patients who give consent will undergo ultrasound guided placement of a femoral catheter with injection of 30 cc of 0.5% bupivacaine (without epinephrine)through the catheter. After surgery before the patient is discharged home their femoral catheter will then be connected to the home pain pump filled with bupivacaine 0.25% solution (without epinephrine), and the infusion will be started at 6 ml/hr. gh the catheter. Bupivicaine: After surgery before the patient is discharged home their femoral catheter will then be connected to the home pain pump filled with bupivacaine 0.25% solution (without epinephrine), and the infusion will be started at 6 ml/hr. gh the catheter.
4
Placebo
All patients who give consent will undergo ultrasound guided placement of a femoral catheter with injection of 30 cc of 0.5% bupivacaine (without epinephrine) through the catheter. After surgery before the patient is discharged home their femoral catheter will then be connected to the home pain pump filled with saline solution, and the infusion will be started at 6 ml/hr. gh the catheter. placebo
3
Total7

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicBupivacainePlaceboTotal
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
4 Participants3 Participants7 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
4 participants3 participants7 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
2 Participants2 Participants4 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
2 Participants1 Participants3 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
— / —— / —
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 00 / 0
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 00 / 0

Outcome results

Primary

Pain Scores Will be Collected for 48 Hours After ACL Reconstruction

Pain scores will be collected for 48 hours after ACL reconstruction with a patellar tendon graft or allograft and used to measure the effectiveness of the femoral catheter vs. single shot femoral nerve block

Time frame: 48 hours after surgery

Population: Because of the lack of enrollment no data was collected

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