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Exparel and Marcaine for Pain Management in Thoracoscopic Lobectomy Patients

A Prospective, Randomized, Single-Blind, Active Control Trial to Compare Safety and Effectiveness Of Liposomal Bupivacaine (Exparel) to Standard Bupivacaine HCl (Marcaine) for Pain Management in Patients Undergoing Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Lobectomy

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03682224
Acronym
BEMP
Enrollment
57
Registered
2018-09-24
Start date
2018-07-05
Completion date
2022-09-03
Last updated
2023-01-12

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

Conditions

Non Small Cell Lung Cancer, Lung Cancer Stage 1

Keywords

clinical trial, bupivacaine-epinephrine, bupivacaine liposome, pain, Morphine equivalent dose, lobectomy, Laproscopic lobectomy, VATS lobectomy, opioid medications

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to assess pain management after elective thoracoscopic lobectomy. The study will compare two local anesthetics that are given intra-operatively during lobectomy to see which one helps in better pain control and to see which one helps decrease the need for opioid medications. Participants will receive either Marcaine (Bupivacaine-epinephrine 0.25%, 1:200,000) or Exparel (Bupivacaine liposomal (1.3%)) and the drug will be chosen in a random fashion. Participants will be followed during the hospital stay and for one year thereafter. An visual Scale will be administered to measure pain, and opioid drug use will be measured by calculating morphine equivalent dose on each day post surgery until discharge and thereafter on 30 day, 6 month and 12 month follow-up visits. Participants will be monitored for any drug related toxicity and other co-morbid conditions for a period on one year post surgery. Overall cost for the surgery and during in hospital stay post surgery will be collected and compared between the two treatment arms.

Detailed description

The hypothesis of this study is the possibility of liposomal bupivacaine providing more relief with less need of narcotics when compared to standard bupivacaine. To test the hypothesis the investigators will compare pain management following local infiltration of liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel®) versus standard bupivacaine HCl with epinephrine (Marcaine®) after VATS (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery)-lobectomy. This will be accomplished by evaluating total opioid usage and patient reported pain scores. Study will be conducted at Southern Illinois University-Medicine Clinics and Memorial Medical Center. This is a prospective, randomized, single-blind, active control trial for patients undergoing elective lobectomy. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either Liposomal Bupivacaine 1.3% or Bupivacaine-Epinephrine 0.25%, 1:200,000 during surgery. Pain management will be monitored via opioid usage and visual pain assessment throughout the hospital stay and at postoperative day 30, 6 month and 1 year follow up visits. Study population includes patients undergoing elective standard of care lobectomy. Based on the power analysis, 150 participants (75 in each randomized group) are required to be enrolled in the study. Taking into consideration a potential loss of 50 participants due to withdrawal, lost to follow up or other reasons, 200 participants will initially be enrolled and randomized to attain 150 participants at the end of study (1-year follow up). All patients scheduled for surgical consult with Cardiothoracic Surgery for possible video assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy will be screened for initial eligibility criteria. Informed consent form will be discussed in detail at the clinic by authorized study personnel with all participants who are willing to participate in the study. Participants will be given time to review the informed consent with family if so desired. After the participant voluntarily agrees to participate and signs the informed consent form, the inclusion/exclusion criteria will be reviewed again to ensure continued eligibility. Study data including vitals, physical examination, medications, and medical and surgical history will be recorded or obtained from the electronic health records. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two study drugs- Liposomal Bupivacaine 1.3% or Bupivacaine-Epinephrine 0.25%, 1:200,000. At the end of surgery, study drug will be administered as per the standard FDA guidelines. Study drug will be administered by the investigator surgeon or members of surgical team under supervision of the investigator surgeon. Dose will be calculated by the surgeon based on the screening weight of each randomized participant as is done as the standard of care. Treatment compliance will be measured in terms of the subject receiving an injection of either Liposomal Bupivacaine 1.3% or Bupivacaine-Epinephrine 0.25%, 1:200,000 from the study personnel. No other forms of compliance will be measured. Reasons for any deviation will be recorded. Outcomes will be measured during post-operative hospital stay and until 1 year after surgery for extended follow up which is the standard protocol with cardiothoracic surgery. Study coordinators will be responsible for data collection and will ensure that forms are completed and signed. Protected Health Information (PHI) will be recorded for tracking the participants through the course of the study. Subjects may be assigned an identification number for unbiased analysis, and will be linked to PHI separately. Data will be collected on data collection forms and subsequently entered into REDCap. Original signed consent forms, data collection forms and any relevant source documentation will be maintained for the duration of the study in locked file cabinets in the department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Southern Illinois University, Springfield, IL. Electronic data will be stored on a secure server accessible via password-protected computer. Only authorized study personnel will have access to the study data. After completion of data analysis and final manuscript(s) approval, all non-electronic records will be sent to university records management for extended storage. Records will be stored for such a period after study completion as dictated by the university regulations. Adverse events, serious adverse events, discontinuation of drug administration due to adverse events will monitored for both the study drugs and will be reported to the Institutional Review Board.

Interventions

DRUGLiposomal Bupivacaine

Liposomal Bupivacaine 1.3% (Exparel), 20 ml vial for injection, administered subcutaneously at port site

Bupivacaine-Epinephrine 0.25%, 1:200,000 (Marcaine with epinephrine), administered subcutaneously at port site

Sponsors

Southern Illinois University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)

Masking description

The participant will not be aware of the drug group. A study statistician will generate the randomization with two arms. Statistician will be blinded and will not be aware of the treatment allocation. Researchers and clinicians will be aware of the allocation and drugs will be dispensed by the hospital pharmacy based on the allocation sequence.

Intervention model description

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either Exparel or Marcaine during surgery. Based on the randomization they will receive one of the two drugs. Participants are assigned one of the two groups in parallel for the duration of the study

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Adult at least 18 years of age 2. Subject needs elective lobectomy for non small cell lung cancer 3. Willing to comply with all aspects of protocol, including providing information about opioid usage for post-surgical pain and signed informed consent

Exclusion criteria

1. \< 18 years of age, \> 80 years of age 2. Inability or unwillingness to consent 3. Emergency surgery 4. Previous ipsilateral thoracic surgery 5. Need for operative pleurectomy or pleurodesis 6. Chronic Narcotic use 7. Any narcotic use in the 1 month period prior to screening 8. Allergies to bupivacaine or other local anesthetics, narcotics, NSAIDs or acetaminophen 9. Moderate to severe hepatic impairment (ALT or AST) value greater than 3 times the upper limit of normal. 10. Severe renal impairment or end stage renal failure disease (creatinine greater than 2.0 mg/dl). 11. History of peptic ulcerative disease 12. Severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to LVRS (lung-volume reduction surgery). 13. Pregnancy 14. Need for conversion from a Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery procedure to an open thoracotomy 15. Subjects who are incarcerated 16. Subject has been treated with an experimental device within 30 days or received an experimental agent within the longer of 30 days or five half-lives. Or subject is current enrolled in another clinical trial. 17. Unable to follow protocol directions due to organic brain or psychiatric disease. 18. History of alcoholism or any other substance abuse, which, in the opinion of the investigator, would affect compliance with the protocol.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Total Morphine Equivalents Consumedup to 72 hours post surgeryMeasured as overall intake of any drugs in the opioid class (Morphine Equivalent Dosing)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
VAS Pain ScoreIn-hospital until discharge, approximately 3 days, will be collected each time before dispensing pain medicationsUsing a 10 point visual analog scale (VAS) score. The score ranges from 0 to 10. '0' represents no pain and '10' represents worst pain.
Treatment CostIn-hospital Costs until discharge, approximately 3 daysAll direct cost from the date of surgery until discharge
Pharmacy CostIn-hospital until discharge, approximately 3 daysMedian In-hospital pharmacy cost
MortalityUp to 30 days post surgeryAny death occurring during primary hospital stay or prior to 30 days post surgery

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
PneumothoraxIn-hospital until discharge, approximately 3 daysDocumented pnuemothorax
Prolonged Air Leak> 5 days to 7 daysNumber of patients who had air leak more than 5 days post-surgery
Atrial Fibrillation/Other ArrhythmiaIn-hospital until discharge, approximately 3 daysPost-op arrhythmia
Hospital StayLength of hospital stay - from admission to discharge, approximately 3 days

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Exparel
Liposomal Bupivacaine: Liposomal Bupivacaine 1.3% (Exparel), 20 ml vial for injection, administered subcutaneously at port site
26
Marcaine
Bupivacaine-Epinephrine: Bupivacaine-Epinephrine 0.25%, 1:200,000 (Marcaine with epinephrine), administered subcutaneously at port site
24
Total50

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicTotalExparelMarcaine
Age, Continuous66 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.4
65.6 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.6
66.5 years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.7
Comorbidities
Arthritis
5 Participants4 Participants1 Participants
Comorbidities
Asthma
5 Participants4 Participants1 Participants
Comorbidities
COPD
14 Participants5 Participants9 Participants
Comorbidities
Diabetes Mellitus
11 Participants4 Participants7 Participants
Comorbidities
GERD
16 Participants8 Participants8 Participants
Comorbidities
Hyperlipidemia
27 Participants13 Participants14 Participants
Comorbidities
Hypertension
38 Participants19 Participants19 Participants
Comorbidities
Obesity
12 Participants7 Participants5 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
50 Participants26 Participants24 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
0 Participants0 Participants0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
3 Participants2 Participants1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants0 Participants0 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
47 Participants24 Participants23 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
26 Participants13 Participants13 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
24 Participants13 Participants11 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 260 / 24
other
Total, other adverse events
2 / 261 / 24
serious
Total, serious adverse events
12 / 269 / 24

Outcome results

Primary

Total Morphine Equivalents Consumed

Measured as overall intake of any drugs in the opioid class (Morphine Equivalent Dosing)

Time frame: up to 72 hours post surgery

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
ExparelTotal Morphine Equivalents Consumed48 MEq
MarcaineTotal Morphine Equivalents Consumed42.7 MEq
Secondary

Mortality

Any death occurring during primary hospital stay or prior to 30 days post surgery

Time frame: Up to 30 days post surgery

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
ExparelMortality0 Participants
MarcaineMortality0 Participants
Secondary

Pharmacy Cost

Median In-hospital pharmacy cost

Time frame: In-hospital until discharge, approximately 3 days

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
ExparelPharmacy Cost1052 United States Dollars
MarcainePharmacy Cost596 United States Dollars
Secondary

Treatment Cost

All direct cost from the date of surgery until discharge

Time frame: In-hospital Costs until discharge, approximately 3 days

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
ExparelTreatment Cost22,775 United States Dollars
MarcaineTreatment Cost20,252 United States Dollars
Secondary

VAS Pain Score

Using a 10 point visual analog scale (VAS) score. The score ranges from 0 to 10. '0' represents no pain and '10' represents worst pain.

Time frame: In-hospital until discharge, approximately 3 days, will be collected each time before dispensing pain medications

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
ExparelVAS Pain Score4.8 score on a scale
MarcaineVAS Pain Score5.2 score on a scale
Other Pre-specified

Atrial Fibrillation/Other Arrhythmia

Post-op arrhythmia

Time frame: In-hospital until discharge, approximately 3 days

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
ExparelAtrial Fibrillation/Other Arrhythmia2 Participants
MarcaineAtrial Fibrillation/Other Arrhythmia3 Participants
Other Pre-specified

Hospital Stay

Time frame: Length of hospital stay - from admission to discharge, approximately 3 days

ArmMeasureValue (MEDIAN)
ExparelHospital Stay3.28 Days
MarcaineHospital Stay2.45 Days
Other Pre-specified

Pneumothorax

Documented pnuemothorax

Time frame: In-hospital until discharge, approximately 3 days

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
ExparelPneumothorax5 Participants
MarcainePneumothorax6 Participants
Other Pre-specified

Prolonged Air Leak

Number of patients who had air leak more than 5 days post-surgery

Time frame: > 5 days to 7 days

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
ExparelProlonged Air Leak8 Participants
MarcaineProlonged Air Leak5 Participants

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