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Neuromuscular Blockade on Shoulder Pain of Elderly

The Effect of Deep Neuromuscular Blockade With Sugammadex Reversal on Shoulder Pain of Elderly Patients Undergoing Robotic Surgery: A Single-Center Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03210376
Enrollment
100
Registered
2017-07-06
Start date
2017-11-17
Completion date
2020-10-22
Last updated
2020-11-25

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

Conditions

Malignant Neoplasms of Digestive Organs, Malignant Neoplasms of Female Genital Organs, Malignant Neoplasms of Male Genital Organs, Malignant Neoplasms of Urinary Tract

Keywords

Malignant neoplasms of digestive organs, Malignant neoplasms of female genital organs, Malignant neoplasms of male genital organs, Malignant neoplasms of urinary tract, Neuromuscular blockade, NMB, Sugammadex, Neostigmine, Pain Assessment, Survey

Brief summary

Insufflation pressure (IP) is the creation of a pressure barrier of air/gas within the abdomen to allow the surgeon more space to work during abdominal surgery. Shoulder pain is a common complaint from patients who have had abdominal surgery and the pain is thought to be related to the use of IP. In addition to anesthesia (which keeps you asleep during surgery), the current standard practice is to block the nerve-muscle junction with a type of drug called neuromuscular blockade (NMB) which paralyzes the abdominal muscles. This means that a lower level of insufflation pressure is needed by the surgeon. To reverse the effects of NMB after surgery, a drug called neostigmine is given. The goal of this clinical research study is to compare the use of standard-of-care moderate NMB and neostigmine to the use of deep NMB and a drug called Sugammadex when given to elderly patients (patients who are 65 years of age or older) who are scheduled to have robotic abdominal surgery. Deep and moderate in this study refers to the dose or strength of the NMB given. This is an investigational study. Sugammadex and neostigmine are FDA approved and commercially available for the reversal of NMB. It is considered investigational to compare Sugammadex and neostigmine to learn if the use of one or the other in elderly patients can reduce the level of shoulder pain after surgery. Up to 100 participants will be enrolled in this study. All will take part at MD Anderson.

Detailed description

Study Groups: If you are found to be eligible to take part in this study, you will be randomly assigned (as in the flip of a coin) to 1 of 2 study groups before your surgery. This is done because no one knows if one group is better, the same, or worse than the other. * In Group 1, you will receive deep NMB and Sugammadex. * In Group 2, you will receive moderate NMB and neostigmine. Neither you nor the surgeon or surgical staff will know to which group you have been assigned. The surgeon will not know which group you are in because researchers want to learn how much, if at all, the surgeon needs to adjust the insufflation pressure during surgery. However, if needed for your safety, the surgeon will be able to find out which group you are in. For your safety, the anesthesiologist will know to which group you have been assigned. Surgery and Study Drug Administration: After you have been assigned to a study group, you will have your surgery as scheduled. You will sign a separate consent form for surgery which describes the procedure and its risks in more detail. You will also sign a separate consent form to receive anesthesia. Before your surgery, blood (about 2 teaspoons) will be drawn for biomarker testing. Biomarkers are found in the blood/tissue and may be related to the status of the disease and/or your reaction to the study drug(s). During the surgery, the insufflation pressure that is being used, including any changes that are made to the pressure, will be recorded. After the surgery has been completed, you will receive either Sugammadex or neostigmine by vein until the effects of the NMB have been reversed. You will recover after surgery in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). At about 15, 45, and 90 minutes after your surgery, a PACU nurse will ask you about any shoulder pain you are feeling and if so, how intense the pain is. Information about how long you stay in the hospital after surgery and if you have any side effects after surgery (such as nausea/vomiting or shoulder pain) will also be collected from your medical record. Follow-Up: After 30 days after you leave the hospital, you will be called by a member of the study staff to ask how you are doing and if you have had any additional hospitalizations since leaving the hospital. This phone call should last about 5-10 minutes. Length of Study Participation: Your participation in this study will be over after completing the 30-day follow up phone call.

Interventions

Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) given during surgery.

Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) given during surgery.

DRUGSugammadex

4 mg/Kg, intravenously as a single bolus injection after surgery.

DRUGNeostigmine

70 mcg/Kg up to a total of 5 mg, intravenously slowly over a period of at least 1 minute after surgery.

BEHAVIORALPain Assessment

Pain assessment done at about 15, 45, and 90 minutes after surgery.

Sponsors

Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

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

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Patients 65 years of age or older 2. Patients having robotic prostatectomy 3. Written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

1. Patient with known hypersensitivity to Rocuronium, Sugammadex or its components 2. Patients with severe renal insufficiency, defined and confirmed by an estimated creatinine clearance equal or lower than 30 mL/min, per institutional laboratory. 3. Patients with history of severe liver disease, defined as and confirmed by elevated ALT and AST greater than 1.5 times the Upper Limit of Normal along with Albumin less than 3 OR INR 1.5 or greater per institutional laboratory.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Percentage of Patients Who Reported Shoulder Pain30 daysVisual Analog Scale (VAS) pain score (0-10) for shoulder pain recorded, where 0 means no pain and 10 means the worst pain ever experienced . Percentage of participants who experienced should pain.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Percentage of Muscle Response Using Train-of-Four (TOF) in Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) to Measure Residual Muscle RelaxationDay 0 - Arrival time at PACU, an average of 3 minutesThe patients will be started on a continuous Rocuronium intravenous infusion following intubation. Insert recommendations and Institutional Standards will be used for Rocuronium. For the DNMB group, the rate will be adjusted and boluses given to maintain 1-2 post tetanic responses during the pneumoperitoneum. NMB will be reversed with Sugammadex 4 mg/Kg, intravenously as a single bolus injection, at the end of the surgery. Percentage of measured contraction strength of the fourth stimulus compared to the first stimulus.
Readiness to Discharge From the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)Assessed at 15, 45, 90 minutes during PACU stay.Determined by the Dansk Selskab for Anæstesiologi og Intensiv Medicin(DASAIM)discharge criteria.Pts considered ready to discharge when the sum of all categories is\<4 and no single category has a score of \>1.Sedation.0:Patient is fully awake.1: Patient is asleep,aroused by verbal stimulation.2:Patient is asleep, aroused by physical stimulation.3:Patient is asleep,cannot be aroused.Respiratory Rate.0:Respiratory rate\>10. 1: Snoring,10\< RR\<30. 2:R\<10 or RR\>30/min.3:Periods of apnea or obstructive patterns.Oxygen Saturation.0:SpO2 ≥ 94%.1:90%≤SpO2\<94%. 2:85%≤ SpO2 \< 90%.3:SpO2 \< 85%. Systolic Blood Pressure. 0:SBP ≥ 100mmHg.1:90mmHg≤SBP\< 100mmHg.2:80mmHg≤SBP\< 90mmHg or SBP\>220mmHg.3:SBP\<80mmHg.Heart Rate.0:50\<HR≤100.1:100\<HR≤120.2:40\<HR≤ 50 or 120\<HR≤130.3:HR\<40 or HR\>130.Pain at rest.0:No pain 1:Light pain.2:Moderate pain.3:Severe pain.Nausea.0:No nausea or vomiting.1:Light nausea or vomiting without previous nausea. 2:Moderate nausea and/or vomiting.3:Severe nausea and/or vomiting.
Cumulative Intraoperative Insufflation PressureDay 0 - IntraOperative-From beginning of pneumoperitoneum to desufflation (an average of 166 minutes)Intra-abdominal insufflation time and pressure directed by the surgeon and recorded continuously by the clinical coordinator until the time of desufflation.
Surgical Exposure GradingDay 0 - IntraOperative, from incision time to closing time(average 190 minutes)
Length of Hospital Staylength of hospital stay(average of 3 days)
Percentage of Participants With Nausea and/or Vomiting in PACUDay 0 - PACU stay, an average of 120 minutesDegree of Post-Operative Nausea determined per Visual Analog Scale per nurse in Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU).

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Recruitment details

Patients were identified when scheduled for Robotic Prostatectomy. Eligible subjects were approached before scheduled surgery to obtain Informed Consent. Patients were recruited from November, 2017 through July, 2018.

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + Sugammadex
The patients will be started on a continuous Rocuronium intravenous infusion following intubation. Insert recommendations and Institutional Standards will be used for Rocuronium. For the DNMB group, the rate will be adjusted and boluses given to maintain 1-2 post tetanic responses during the pneumoperitoneum. NMB will be reversed with Sugammadex 4 mg/Kg, intravenously as a single bolus injection, at the end of the surgery.
50
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + Neostigmine
The patients will be started on a continuous Rocuronium intravenous infusion following intubation. Insert recommendations and Institutional Standards will be used for Rocuronium. For the MNMB group, the Rocuronium infusion rate will be adjusted to maintain 1-2 TOF responses and will be reversed with Neostigmine 70 mcg/Kg up to a total of 5 mg, intravenously slowly over a period of at least 1 minute, at the end of surgery.
50
Total100

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicDeep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexModerate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineTotal
Adjuvant or Immunotherapy5 Participants4 Participants9 Participants
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
44 Participants43 Participants87 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
6 Participants7 Participants13 Participants
Age, Continuous69.12 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.6289
69.26 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.6073
69.19 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.6
Body mass index (BMI)29.044 kg/m^2
STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.8
28.662 kg/m^2
STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.9567
28.85 kg/m^2
STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.38
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
6 Participants8 Participants14 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
44 Participants42 Participants86 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
2 Participants4 Participants6 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
5 Participants3 Participants8 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
3 Participants4 Participants7 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
40 Participants39 Participants79 Participants
Region of Enrollment
United States
50 participants50 participants100 participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
50 Participants50 Participants100 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 500 / 50
other
Total, other adverse events
13 / 5015 / 50
serious
Total, serious adverse events
3 / 502 / 50

Outcome results

Primary

Percentage of Patients Who Reported Shoulder Pain

Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain score (0-10) for shoulder pain recorded, where 0 means no pain and 10 means the worst pain ever experienced . Percentage of participants who experienced should pain.

Time frame: 30 days

ArmMeasureValue (NUMBER)
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexPercentage of Patients Who Reported Shoulder Pain12 percentage of participants
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigminePercentage of Patients Who Reported Shoulder Pain10 percentage of participants
Secondary

Cumulative Intraoperative Insufflation Pressure

Intra-abdominal insufflation time and pressure directed by the surgeon and recorded continuously by the clinical coordinator until the time of desufflation.

Time frame: Day 0 - IntraOperative-From beginning of pneumoperitoneum to desufflation (an average of 166 minutes)

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexCumulative Intraoperative Insufflation Pressure1995 mmHg
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineCumulative Intraoperative Insufflation Pressure1581 mmHg
Secondary

Length of Hospital Stay

Time frame: length of hospital stay(average of 3 days)

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)Dispersion
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexLength of Hospital Stay2.2323 daysStandard Deviation 2.0859
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineLength of Hospital Stay1.8623 daysStandard Deviation 1.0545
Secondary

Percentage of Muscle Response Using Train-of-Four (TOF) in Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) to Measure Residual Muscle Relaxation

The patients will be started on a continuous Rocuronium intravenous infusion following intubation. Insert recommendations and Institutional Standards will be used for Rocuronium. For the DNMB group, the rate will be adjusted and boluses given to maintain 1-2 post tetanic responses during the pneumoperitoneum. NMB will be reversed with Sugammadex 4 mg/Kg, intravenously as a single bolus injection, at the end of the surgery. Percentage of measured contraction strength of the fourth stimulus compared to the first stimulus.

Time frame: Day 0 - Arrival time at PACU, an average of 3 minutes

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexPercentage of Muscle Response Using Train-of-Four (TOF) in Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) to Measure Residual Muscle Relaxation110 Percentage of measured contraction
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigminePercentage of Muscle Response Using Train-of-Four (TOF) in Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) to Measure Residual Muscle Relaxation100 Percentage of measured contraction
Secondary

Percentage of Participants With Nausea and/or Vomiting in PACU

Degree of Post-Operative Nausea determined per Visual Analog Scale per nurse in Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU).

Time frame: Day 0 - PACU stay, an average of 120 minutes

ArmMeasureGroupValue (NUMBER)
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexPercentage of Participants With Nausea and/or Vomiting in PACUNausea7 percentage of participants
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexPercentage of Participants With Nausea and/or Vomiting in PACUVomiting1 percentage of participants
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigminePercentage of Participants With Nausea and/or Vomiting in PACUNausea6 percentage of participants
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigminePercentage of Participants With Nausea and/or Vomiting in PACUVomiting0 percentage of participants
Secondary

Readiness to Discharge From the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)

Determined by the Dansk Selskab for Anæstesiologi og Intensiv Medicin(DASAIM)discharge criteria.Pts considered ready to discharge when the sum of all categories is\<4 and no single category has a score of \>1.Sedation.0:Patient is fully awake.1: Patient is asleep,aroused by verbal stimulation.2:Patient is asleep, aroused by physical stimulation.3:Patient is asleep,cannot be aroused.Respiratory Rate.0:Respiratory rate\>10. 1: Snoring,10\< RR\<30. 2:R\<10 or RR\>30/min.3:Periods of apnea or obstructive patterns.Oxygen Saturation.0:SpO2 ≥ 94%.1:90%≤SpO2\<94%. 2:85%≤ SpO2 \< 90%.3:SpO2 \< 85%. Systolic Blood Pressure. 0:SBP ≥ 100mmHg.1:90mmHg≤SBP\< 100mmHg.2:80mmHg≤SBP\< 90mmHg or SBP\>220mmHg.3:SBP\<80mmHg.Heart Rate.0:50\<HR≤100.1:100\<HR≤120.2:40\<HR≤ 50 or 120\<HR≤130.3:HR\<40 or HR\>130.Pain at rest.0:No pain 1:Light pain.2:Moderate pain.3:Severe pain.Nausea.0:No nausea or vomiting.1:Light nausea or vomiting without previous nausea. 2:Moderate nausea and/or vomiting.3:Severe nausea and/or vomiting.

Time frame: Assessed at 15, 45, 90 minutes during PACU stay.

ArmMeasureGroupValue (MEDIAN)Dispersion
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexReadiness to Discharge From the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)DASAIM at 15 min2.92 Score on a scaleStandard Deviation 1.6393
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexReadiness to Discharge From the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)DASAIM at 45 min2.82 Score on a scaleStandard Deviation 1.6744
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexReadiness to Discharge From the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)DASAIM at 90 min2.12 Score on a scaleStandard Deviation 1.599
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineReadiness to Discharge From the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)DASAIM at 15 min3.16 Score on a scaleStandard Deviation 1.6946
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineReadiness to Discharge From the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)DASAIM at 45 min2.86 Score on a scaleStandard Deviation 1.6904
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineReadiness to Discharge From the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU)DASAIM at 90 min1.8 Score on a scaleStandard Deviation 1.4286
Secondary

Surgical Exposure Grading

Time frame: Day 0 - IntraOperative, from incision time to closing time(average 190 minutes)

ArmMeasureGroupValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexSurgical Exposure GradingOptimal25 Participants
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexSurgical Exposure GradingAcceptable5 Participants
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexSurgical Exposure GradingGood19 Participants
Deep Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + SugammadexSurgical Exposure GradingPoor1 Participants
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineSurgical Exposure GradingGood8 Participants
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineSurgical Exposure GradingOptimal33 Participants
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineSurgical Exposure GradingPoor1 Participants
Moderate Neuromuscular Blockade (NMB) + NeostigmineSurgical Exposure GradingAcceptable8 Participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 1, 2026