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Aprepitant to Improve Same Day Discharge for TKA

Preoperative Aprepitant to Improve Same-Day Discharge After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07639723
Enrollment
350
Registered
2026-06-10
Start date
2026-07-01
Completion date
2027-08-01
Last updated
2026-06-10

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

Conditions

PONV

Brief summary

The purpose of this research is to study whether adding an FDA approved medication called aprepitant (a medication given to patients like you to reduce or eliminate nausea and vomiting) to the usual treatment to prevent nausea and vomiting given to patients during knee replacement surgery helps more patients go home on the same day of surgery (before midnight) by eliminating nausea and vomiting.

Detailed description

This is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving adults undergoing primary total knee arthroplasties at Endeavor Health SKH with presumed same-day discharge (as identified by the orthopedic surgery team prior to surgery). Patients will be randomly assigned to either receive 32 mg of intravenous (IV) preoperative aprepitant, in addition to the standard antiemetic protocol (4 mg IV dexamethasone after induction of MAC sedation anesthesia and 4 mg IV ondansetron at surgical closure), or the standard protocol with placebo (saline solution in same volume at the time aprepitant is given in the preoperative holding area by nursing). Aprepitant will be administered by the preoperative nurse in the holding area to ensure blinding of the anesthesia, surgical, and postoperative teams. All patients will receive either epidural or spinal anesthesia following our standard regional anesthesia protocol, with or without an adductor canal block. Intraoperatively, all patients will receive propofol infusions titrated to a RASS of 0 to -2 per the standard of care protocol at SKH. All patients will receive postoperative rescue antiemetics as needed and within the PACU admission order set choices for PONV.

Interventions

32mg aprepitant will be administered intravenously preoperatively during single sided total knee arthroscopy

4 mg IV ondansetron will be given at surgical closure during total knee arthroscopy

DRUGDexamethasone

4 mg IV dexamethasone will be given after induction of MAC sedation anesthesia during total knee arthroscopy

OTHERPlacebo

Patients will receive 32 mg of intravenous (IV) placebo preoperatively for a total knee arthroscopy

Sponsors

Endeavor Health
Lead SponsorOTHER
Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly A.P. Pharma, Inc.)
CollaboratorUNKNOWN

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 90 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Receiving primary, unilateral elective TKA with or without abductor canal block * Asa I-III * Age 18-90 * Ability to receive ondansetron and dexamethasone * Ability to consent and complete surveys * English or Spanish speaking * Receiving regional anesthesia (epidural or spinal) for surgery

Exclusion criteria

* Allergy to any of the anti-emetics being administered * Current treatment of pimozide * Emergent surgery * Revision/ multiple revisions of TKA * Clinical suspicion of possible bowel obstruction * Need for general anesthesia * Pregnant/breast feeding * AST\> 2.5 x the upper limit of normal or ALT\> 2.5 x upper limit of normal, bilirubin\> 1.5x upper limit of normal * Need for opioid or benzodiazepine antagonists * Not planned for same day discharge * Enrollment in a different drug trial for TKA * Unable to consent in English or Spanish

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
difference in the incidence of same-day discharges between two randomized groups of anti-emetic regimens for anesthesia carepatients will be followed from arrival for surgery to 7 days post operativelydifference in the incidence of same-day discharges between two randomized groups of anti-emetic regimens for anesthesia care. Subjects will be randomized to either the aprepitant group (administration of aprepitant, ondansetron, and dexamethasone) or control (ondansetron, dexamethasone, and placebo). PACU and ASU staff will collect real time data with regard to the primary and secondary reason for any hospital admission (PONV, Pain control, Rapid response team called, Vital sign abnormalities, Change in mental status, Other). Same day discharge will be defined by patients who are discharged from the hospital before 12 A.M day of surgery. We will use the validated simplified PONV Impact Scale that uses patient assessment of nausea and vomiting to identify clinically important PONV upon PACU and ASU discharge (a PONV impact scale score of greater than or equal to 5 defines clinically important PONV).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Rescue antiemeticsFrom date of admission to perioperative procedural area until hospital discharge or up to 30 days whichever is firstCompare rescue antiemetics doses and counts given during the hospital stay in each group.
Incidence of vomitingUpon post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) arrival (within ~2-3 hours after procedure), upon PACU discharge (~4-5 hours after procedure/medically cleared to leave PACU), admission to ASU directly after medically cleared from PACU to discharge from ASUCompare the incidence of vomiting between both groups in PACU and ASU (None = No PONV symptoms, Mild = Patient feels queasy but is able to take PO, will treat with alcohol pads and/or QueaseEASE, Moderate = Patient is unable to take PO and is restless, will treat with rescue antiemetics per standard PACU orderset, Severe = Actively vomiting, will treat with rescue antiemetics per standard PACU orderset)
patients with no PONVarrival at hospital to post op day 7Compare the number of patients in each group who experience no PONV.
Compare the incidence of PONV in PACU and ASUUpon post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) arrival (within ~2-3 hours after procedure), upon PACU discharge (~4-5 hours after procedure/medically cleared to leave PACU), admission to ASU directly after medically cleared from PACU to discharge from ASUCompare the incidence of PONV between both groups in PACU and ASU using Endeavor Health SKH PACU PONV assessment scales, and stratify both groups by none, mild, moderate, and severe PONV (None = No PONV symptoms, Mild = Patient feels queasy but is able to take PO, will treat with alcohol pads and/or QueaseEASE, Moderate = Patient is unable to take PO and is restless, will treat with rescue antiemetics per standard PACU orderset, Severe = Actively vomiting, will treat with rescue antiemetics per standard PACU orderset)
Clinically important PONVUpon post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) arrival (within ~2-3 hours after procedure), upon PACU discharge (~4-5 hours after procedure/medically cleared to leave PACU), admission to ASU directly after medically cleared from PACU to discharge from ASUCompare the incidence of clinically important PONV between both groups in PACU and ASU using the validated simplified PONV Impact Scale. a PONV impact scale score of greater than or equal to 5 defines clinically important PONV
Readmission ratesDischarge of hospital to 7 days post operativelyCompare readmission rates within 7 days postoperatively, stratified by admissions due to nausea/vomiting or related complications, and those for other medical or surgical reasons.
Postoperative Delirium Measured by 4AT AssessmentPreoperative baseline and upon PACU discharge (~4 hours after procedure/medically cleared to leave PACU).Compare incidence of delirium in both groups. Delirium will be detected using the 4AT validated survey upon PACU discharge compared to a preoperative baseline assessment Preoperative baseline
Compare APFEL ScorePreoperatively in Holding areaCompare Apfel Scores for Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in both groups (determined preoperatively in holding area by research team) . Apfel score is a quick, validated clinical tool used by anesthesiologists to predict a patient's risk of developing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV).The total score (0-4) predicts the percentage risk of developing PONV
Compare length of stays between groupsFrom date of procedure through hospital discharge (up to 30 days after procedure date, whichever comes first)Compare PACU length of stay (hours) and hospital length of stay (hours) between groups.
opioid consumptionFrom date of procedure through hospital discharge (up to 30 days after procedure date, whichever comes first)Compare opioid consumption in morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) between groups intraoperatively, in PACU, and during the total hospital period.
Patient Satisfactionpost operative day 1 and 5Compare patient satisfaction scores using a Likert scale on postoperative days 1 and 5. "The anesthesia care I received during my total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedure met my expectations" (5= strongly agree, 1=strongly disagree) and "The management of any nausea and vomiting following my total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedure met my expectations" (5= strongly agree, 1=strongly disagree).
Adverse EventsThese events will be assessed after immediate administration in the preoperative holding area and within 4 hours postoperativelyCompare the adverse events that could be related to aprepitant vs. placebo between groups. These events may include but are not limited to: injection site reactions, hypersensitivity reactions or skin reactions, abdominal discomfort, constipation or diarrhea, dizziness, hiccups, headache

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTJessica Brickner
jessica.brickner@endeavorhealth.org847-570-1197
CONTACTNia Moragne
nia.moragne@endeavorhealth.org084-570-1197
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORSteven Greenberg, MD

Endeavor Health

Outcome results

None listed

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