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R.E.C.K vs Exparel in Robotic Nephrectomy

Efficacy of Ropivacaine Epinephrine Clonidine Ketorolac (R.E.C.K) vs Exparel in Robotic Nephrectomy: a Randomized, Prospective Trial

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07092566
Enrollment
170
Registered
2025-07-30
Start date
2025-11-14
Completion date
2027-10-01
Last updated
2026-01-20

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

Conditions

Renal Carcinoma, Nephrectomy / Methods, Pain Management

Keywords

Analgesics, Nephrectomy

Brief summary

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of R.E.C.K (ropivacaine epinephrine clonidine ketorolac) vs Exparel during robotic partial and radical nephrectomy in a single institution, prospective, randomized trial. The study will evaluate post operative Numerical Rating Score (NRS) pain scores, post operative pain medication intake (opioids and over-the-counter pain medicines) and length of stay across the two patient cohorts. The findings will help to inform whether the increased cost of Exparel when compared to R.E.C.K is justified.

Detailed description

Intra-op opioid administration will be collected and recorded for each participant via EMR review. While in the post anesthesia care unit and the remainder of the inpatient stay, the following will be assessed and captured: pain score via Numerical Rating Score (NRS) captured per standard of care, oral and IV opioid intake, and length of inpatient stay. After discharge, the participants will be asked to record and timestamp the following in a provided take-home paper diary: pain via NRS in response to the prompt "How much pain are you experiencing right now?" and self-administered medications and dose (ibuprofen, acetaminophen, naproxen, and opioids) throughout the day. Treatment will be administered intraoperatively.

Interventions

123 mg, intramuscular

DRUGExparel

100 mL total dose - Intramuscular (IM), intraoperatively

DRUGEpinephrine

0.25 mg, intramuscular

0.04 mg, intramuscular

DRUGKetorolac

15 mg, intramuscular

Sponsors

Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Lead SponsorOTHER
Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

1. Ability to understand and willingness to sign an IRB-approved informed consent 2. Age ≥ 18 years at the time of consent. 3. Planned robotic partial or radical nephrectomy

Exclusion criteria

1. Determined not to be a candidate to receive R.E.C.K or Exparel per the enrolling investigator 2. Known pregnancy 3. Chronic opioid use within 30 days (as per patient report) prior to randomization (defined as ≥ 30 MME/day) 4. Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements as determined by the investigator. 5. Known allergy to R.E.C.K. and/or Exparel

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Area Under the Curve (AUC) of the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain intensity scores through 7 days (168 hours) for participants receiving Exparel vs. R.E.C.K.Day of Surgery to Day 7 Post-SurgeryAssess pain intensity (evaluated by NRS) after surgery on the as response to the prompt: "On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = no pain and 10 = worst possible pain, how much pain are you having right now?" The AUC will be derived for each participant from self-reported pain scores and will be summarized by treatment group. Generalized linear models with main effect of treatment will be estimated to test for significant differences in AUC between the arms.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Estimated difference in Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) pain intensity scores over 7 days for participants receiving Exparel vs. R.E.C.K.Day of Surgery to Day 7 Post-SurgeryAssess modeled daily pain scores using repeated measures analysis; the primary comparison is the treatment-by-time interaction effect. The NRS is a scale to evaluate pain in response to the prompt "On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = no pain and 10 = worst possible pain, how much pain are you having right now?"
Total postsurgical opioid consumption (morphine equivalent dose) over 7 days for participants receiving Exparel vs. R.E.C.K.Day of Surgery to Day 7 Post-SurgeryTotal opioid consumption will be calculated for each participant as the sum of all administered opioid doses from Postoperative Day 0 through Day 7. All opioid doses will be converted to morphine equivalent dose (MED) using standard conversion factors. The total MED will be compared between treatment arms .
Estimated difference in postsurgical opioid consumption (in morphine equivalent dose) over 7 days for participants receiving Exparel vs. R.E.C.K.Day of Surgery to Day 7 Post-SurgeryAssess modeled daily postsurgical opioid consumption using repeated measures analysis; the primary comparison is the treatment-by-time interaction effect. Daily totals in morphine equivalent dose will be calculated for each participant.
Total postsurgical non-opioid pain medication consumption (in milligrams) over 7 days for participants receiving Exparel vs. R.E.C.K.Day of Surgery to Day 7 Post-SurgeryTotal milligrams consumed for each for ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and naproxen will be calculated for each participant as the sum of the total milligrams consumed from Post Operative Day 0 trough Post Operative Day 7 and compared between arms. The total milligrams consumed will be compared between treatment arms.
Estimated difference in postsurgical non-opioid consumption over 7 days for participants receiving Exparel vs. R.E.C.K.Day of Surgery to Day 7 Post-SurgeryAssess modeled daily postsurgical non-opioid consumption using repeated measures analysis; the primary comparison is the treatment-by-time interaction effect. Medications informing this analysis include ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and naproxen. Daily totals in milligrams consumed will be calculated for each participant.
Proportion of opioid-free participants after 7 days for participants receiving Exparel vs. R.E.C.K.Day of Surgery to Day 7 Post-SurgeryThe proportion of participants who did not receive any opioid medication from Postoperative Day 0 through Day 7. Participants will be classified as opioid-free if their total opioid consumption during this period is zero (0 mg morphine equivalent dose). The proportion will be compared between treatment arms.
Time to first opioid intake in hours from surgery for participants receiving Exparel vs. R.E.C.K.Day of Surgery to Day 7 Post-SurgeryTime to first opioid intake will be defined as the time, in hours, from end of surgery to first opioid medication taken. If participant does not use opioid medication, the time to first opioid intake will be censored at the end of POD7. This will be compared between the arms.
Length of inpatient stay after surgery for participants receiving Exparel vs. R.E.C.K.Day of Surgery to Day 30 Post-SurgeryLength of inpatient stay is defined as the total duration, in days (where a full day includes an overnight stay), from the end of surgery until the participant is formally discharged from the hospital. This measure will be used to compare hospitalization duration between treatment arms.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORRoy Ornob, MD

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Outcome results

None listed

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