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Low-dose Intravenous Dexamethasone at Different Times as Adjunvants for Brachial Plexus Blocks

Comparison of the Effects of Different Time of Intravenous Dexamethasone on Brachial Plexus Block: a Randomized Control Study

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04714112
Enrollment
180
Registered
2021-01-19
Start date
2021-01-10
Completion date
2021-07-31
Last updated
2023-01-26

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

Conditions

Analgesia, Brachial Plexus Block, Dexamethasone, Intravenous Drug Usage, Shoulder Surgery, Time

Brief summary

Dexamethasone has been tested as an effective adjuvant to prolong the effect of local anesthetics for peripheral nerve blocks, both perineurally and intravenously. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the addition of dexamethasone (5mg) at different time to a standard ropivacaine solution (0.5%) on analgesic duration of interscalene block.

Detailed description

Interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB) is regarded as the standard of care for anesthesia and analgesia for shoulder surgery by providing the superior analgesia and reducing opioid consumption. After several hours when the effects of single injection ISB wear off, the patients often suffer moderate to severe pain of the surgical insult and required strong opioid analgesia. Efforts to prolong ISB duration by adding adjuvants to local anesthetic (eg. clonidine, dexmedetomidine) have been studied with promising results. Dexamethasone, has been added to local anesthetic solutions for ISB and has demonstrated promise in preliminary studies. Perineural dexamethasone (8-10mg) in conjunction with local anesthetic prolongs the duration of ISB with an effect sizes ranging from 40% to 75% (absolute effect \ 6 to 10 hours). Dexamethasone, however, is only approved for intramuscular or intravenous administration and therefore perineural use is currently off-label. Intravenous administration of dexamethasone was reported to have similar effects as perineural route indicating the possible mechanism for prolonging analgesic duration might be due to the systemic effects of dexamethasone. We hypothesized: should that is the reason, systemic administration of dexamethasone at different time may provide similar effects on the duration of peripheral nerve block. Dexamethasone is a slow effect cortisone with long half-time, it is widely used at the beginning of surgery to prevent postoperative nausea and vomiting. A trial that demonstrates enhanced block quality and duration associated with intravenous dexamethasone at different time may allow us to achieve prolonged duration of effect if dexamethasone is used in perioperative period for different purpose. This would further identify the possible mechanism of dexamethasone to prolong the analgesia effect of local anesthetics.

Interventions

DRUGdexamethasone

Intravenous administration of dexamethasone at different time for the duration of ISB with 0.5% ropivacaine

Sponsors

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital. * ASA functional status class I to II * Age 18 to 70 years * BMI ≤ 35 kg/m2

Exclusion criteria

1. Lack of patient consent 2. Allergy to dexamethasone or ropivacaine 3. BMI \> 35 kg/m2 4. Contraindications to low dose dexamethasone including peptic ulcer disease, systemic infection, glaucoma, active varicella/herpetic infections, diabetes mellitus 5. Contraindications to ISB including severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Forced expiratory volume \< 40% predicted), coagulopathy, pre-existing neurologic deficit in ipsilateral upper extremity, localized infection 6. Pregnant or nursing females 7. Chronic opioid use defined as \> 30mg oral morphine or equivalent per day

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Duration of sensory blockone day postoperativefrom completion of ISB to VAS for pain \> 0 ( in hours)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Opioid Consumptiontwo days postoperativeOpioid consumption (in oral morphine equivalents) will be recorded at 12 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours
Visual Analog Scale for pain ( from 0 to 10 )7 days postoperativeRecorded at 12 hours, 24 hours, and 7 days 0 is no pain, 10 is the worst pain imaginable. Lower number is better.
Postoperative Serum Blood Glucoseone day postoperativeMeasured on the morning of first day after surgery
Time to First Opioid Consumptionone day postoperativeTime from completion of block procedure to first consumption of opioid analgesic (in hours)
Number of Participants With Postoperative Nausea and/or Vomiting7 days postoperativeNumber of participants with postoperative nausea and/or vomiting assessed at 12 hours, 24, hours, and 7 days postoperatively
Number of Participants With Nerve Damage From Interscalene Block7 days postoperativePersistent paresthesia, and sensory/motor block at 7 days
Infection7 days postoperativeNumber of participants with localized infection at nerve block site

Countries

China

Outcome results

None listed

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