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Post-mastectomy Recovery: Comparing Preoperative PECS-II Blocks With Intraoperative Pectoral Blocks

Post-mastectomy Recovery: A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Preoperative PECS-II Blocks With Intraoperative Pectoral Blocks

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06574022
Enrollment
100
Registered
2024-08-27
Start date
2024-09-25
Completion date
2026-12-01
Last updated
2025-11-04

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

Conditions

Breast Cancer, Mastectomy; Lymphedema

Brief summary

The purpose this research is to compare two different standards of care for pain management and two different standards of care for local numbing medicine for breast cancer patients who will have a total mastectomy.

Detailed description

The purpose this research is to compare two different standards of care for pain management and two different standards of care for local numbing medicine for breast cancer patients who will have a total mastectomy. Standard of care intervention is preoperative PECS-II blocks versus Intraoperative Pectoral Blocks. The medication used are standard of care and include Bupivacaine and liposomal bupivacaine. Bupivacaine is FDA approved and indicated for the local or regional anesthesia or analgesia for surgery procedures and therapeutic procedures. Liposomal bupivacaine is FDA approved and indicated for adults to produce postsurgical local analgesia and as nerve block to produce postsurgical regional analgesia.

Interventions

DRUGBupivacain

Intraoperative direct visualization of the pectoralis nerves and injection using a 21-gauge needle of 30 cc of 0.5% bupivacaine after mastectomy completion and prior to reconstruction, if performed, or wound closure.

DRUGExparel

Intraoperative direct visualization of the pectoralis nerves and injection using a 21-gauge needle of 20 cc of Exparel mixed with 10 cc of 0.5% bupivacaine after mastectomy completion and prior to reconstruction, if performed, or wound closure.

PROCEDUREIntraoperative Pecs II block (IOB) & superior AT (EX or BP)

Intraoperative direct visualization of the pectoralis nerves and injection using a 21-gauge needle with superior anesthetic as determined by stage I, after mastectomy completion and prior to reconstruction, if performed, or wound closure.

PROCEDUREPreoperative Pecs II block (POB) & superior AT (EX or BP)

Preoperative Pecs II block to be administered by 1 of 6 acute pain specialized anesthesiologists in same day surgery. Patient will be lightly sedated with midazolam, at the discretion of the anesthesiologist. The pecs II block will be performed under ultrasound guidance using a 21-gauge, 80 mm length needle to administer the superior anesthetic as determined in stage I.

Sponsors

University of Cincinnati
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

Study Design Summary: Stage I: A randomized trial to assess the effectiveness of AT combined with IOB. Stage II: Based on Stage I results, evaluate two BTs. Enroll 40 patients per group (n1 = 40, n2 = 40) to achieve 80% power at α = 0.05, with one interim analysis after 50% enrollment. If interim results (n1 = 20, n2 = 20) show a p-value \< 0.025 when comparing pill counts (hypothesizing EX is superior to PB), proceed to Stage II. If not, continue enrollment to full sample size and reanalyze. If final p-value \< 0.025, EX is considered superior. If not significant, continue with EX. If EX is inferior to PB, conduct subset analysis and revise inclusion/exclusion criteria for Stage II. In Stage II, test BT efficacy using the superior AT. Enroll 60 patients, randomized 2:1 favoring CPT. Include Stage I patients treated with IOB and superior AT in analysis. Final sample sizes: n1 = 40 or 60, n2 = 40, maintaining ≥80% power.

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

* Patients who are 18 years of age or older * Patients undergoing mastectomy with or without axillary surgery, with or without reconstruction surgery at UCMC for breast cancer or high-risk of breast cancer. Patients with high-risk of breast cancer are those who have atypical/precancerous breast lesion(s), genetic mutation with increased risk of cancer (e.g., BRCA1, BRCA2 etc..) and/or a strong family history of breast cancer in the opinion of the investigator.

Exclusion criteria

* Patients undergoing only a partial mastectomy or tissue-based reconstruction. * Non-English speaking. * Patients who are pregnant. * Patients with an allergy to local anesthetics * Except: patients with allergies only to topical anesthetics may be included. * Patients with a preoperative acute or chronic pain disorder with an opioid prescription that has been prescribed within 30 days of surgery. Patients who have not filled such a prescription or who state they have not taken the medications prescribed, may be eligible on a case-by-case basis per investigator judgement. * Patients with a history of opioid use disorder. * Inability to provide informed consent. * Patients who otherwise in the opinion of the Investigator are not good candidates for participation (e.g., deemed unreliable for follow-up).

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Postoperative pain as indicated by postoperative opioid use via total inpatient and outpatient opioid use (oral morphine milliequivalents)14 days post-operationPost-operative opioid usage as measured by total inpatient and outpatient opioid use (oral morphine milliequivalents) through 14 days post-op.
Postoperative pain as indicated by postoperative opioid use discontinuation14 days post-operationPost-operative opioid usage as measured by time to opiate discontinuation through 14 days post-op.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Patient satisfaction indicated by patient report21 days Post OperationPatient satisfaction measured at the patient's first postoperative visit (1-3 weeks post-op) using a 10-point Likert scale. The 10 Point Likert Scale will have minimum value of 1 and maximum of 10 with 1 being least satisfied (worse outcome) and 10 being most satisfied (better outcome).
Intraoperative procedure time measured as from time of incision to start of closingDay 0: SurgeryTotal intraoperative procedure time will be measured as from time of incision to start of closing if no reconstruction is performed or to time of Panel 1 completion to be followed by the reconstruction procedure by Panel 2.
Post-operative pain scores indicated by patient report Numeric Rating Scale21 days Post OperationPost-operative pain scores as measured by the Numeric Rating Scale pain scores. Maximum, minimum, and mean pain scores on a scale of 0-10 each day of hospitalization, starting day of surgery.
Operating room delays measured as anesthesia start time that is greater than 1 hour after the scheduled start timeDay 0: SurgeryNumber of operating room delays will be measured as anesthesia start time that is greater than 1 hour after the scheduled start time.
Postoperative length of stay as measured by the number of nights spent in the hospital after surgery.Day 0-7Postoperative length of stay as measured by the number of nights spent in the hospital after surgery.
Intraoperative opioid administration measured in MilliequivalentsDay 0: SurgeryIntraoperative opioid administration in IV Morphine Milliequivalents.
Post-operative pain scores indicated by patient survey21 days Post OperationPost-operative pain scores as measured by patient survey. Patient survey completed on post-operative days 1 (while inpatient) and at their post-operative appointment (1-3 weeks post-op). The patient survey is based on the Clinically Aligned Pain Tool which is a newer tool that attempts to address some of the major limitations inherent with the much more basic numeric rating scale. A score of 1 is the minimum while a score of 10 is the maximum. The higher the score, the more pain the patient is reporting.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactUCCC Clinical Trials Office
cancer@uchealth.com513-584-7698
Backup ContactAlicia Heelan, MD

Outcome results

None listed

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