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Post-operative Pain Management in Children With Supracondylar Humerus Fractures

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Opioid vs Non-Opioid Postoperative Pain Management in Children With Supracondylar Humerus Fractures

Status
Terminated
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05640674
Enrollment
29
Registered
2022-12-07
Start date
2023-09-12
Completion date
2025-12-15
Last updated
2026-02-10

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

Conditions

Supracondylar Humerus Fracture

Brief summary

There are two common and concurrently used strategies for pain management following surgical treatment of supracondylar humerus (elbow) fractures in children: opioids vs over the counter pain medications. The purpose of this study is to determine if ibuprofen and acetaminophen can provide similar or better pain relief compared to ibuprofen and hydrocodone/acetaminophen (also known as Hycet) for this population of children after they have been discharged. If over the counter medications can provide adequate pain relief, then fewer opioid prescriptions would be necessary. This reduces early opioid exposure and decreases unnecessary opioids in circulation.

Detailed description

Prior to surgery, participants will be randomly assigned to a group that will determine whether they are prescribed an opioid vs non-opioid pain management plan at discharge. Each participants' parent or guardian will be given a journal to keep track of their child's pain severity and the pain medications taken. The journal will updated daily until participants no longer require pain medication. Participants will follow up with their surgeon per usual at their post-operative visits.

Interventions

DRUGIbuprofen

Non-opioid

DRUGAcetaminophen

Non-opioid

Sponsors

Baylor College of Medicine
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
3 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Closed, Gartland type III supracondylar humerus fracture * Fractures treated with closed reduction and percutaneous pinning (CRPP) * Patients expected to follow up at Texas Children's Hospital * Patients/guardians must speak English or Spanish

Exclusion criteria

* Fractures associated with open skin wounds, polytrauma, neurologic deficit, or vascular deficit * Patients who have impaired ability to report pain severity such as intellectual delay. * Patients who have a problem with bone healing such as osteogenesis imperfecta. * Patients who are unable to take the standard dose of acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or hydrocodone (allergy, severe kidney disease, etc). * Patients who are on chronic NSAID or opioid medication prior to injury. * Patients with injury from suspected non-accidental trauma.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Daily Pain Scores on the FACES Scalefrom discharge until pain medication is no longer required (assessed up to 3 weeks)A parent/guardian will ask participants to rate their pain severity using the Wong-Baker FACES scale, which ranges from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Number of Days Pain Medication Requiredfrom discharge until pain medication is no longer required (assessed up to 3 weeks)A parent/guardian will record the doses of pain medications given to the participant each day.
Number of Pain Medication Doses Required Per Dayfrom discharge until pain medication is no longer required (assessed up to 3 weeks)A parent/guardian will record the doses of pain medications given to the participant each day.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORScott Rosenfeld, MD

Baylor College of Medicine

Baseline characteristics

Characteristic
Age, Continuous6.5 Years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.8
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Black
1 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Hispanic
7 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Unknown
1 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
White
16 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
13 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
10 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 140 / 15
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 140 / 15
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 140 / 15

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 11, 2026