Comparison of Paravertebral Block With General Anesthesia in Patients Undergoing Breast Cancer Surgery

NCT ID: NCT00645138

Last Updated: 2011-08-05

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

PHASE3

Total Enrollment

40 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2008-04-30

Study Completion Date

2010-03-31

Brief Summary

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The purpose of this project is to determine if there is a difference between paravertebral block and general anesthesia in terms of time to discharge from the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and pain level in patients undergoing outpatient breast cancer surgery.

Detailed Description

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The optimal anesthetic technique for breast cancer surgery allows for good postoperative pain relief and rapid discharge. Breast cancer surgery with potential axillary dissection is often performed under general anesthesia due to the potential for poor analgesia with local anesthetic infiltration at the surgical site alone. General anesthesia can be associated with increased post-operative pain, nausea, and delayed discharge when compared to regional anesthesia for breast and other types of procedures (1,2).

The paravertebral block is a technique that has been used perioperatively for breast (3,4), thoracic (5), abdominal (6), and hernia surgeries (7). It has also been used for pain control after rib fractures and penetrating trauma (8,9). The paravertebral block is performed by injecting local anesthetic above or below the transverse processes of the vertebral bodies where the spinal nerve roots emerge from the intervertebral foramina. The most common technique is to insert a needle 2.5 centimeters lateral to the spinous process at each level and "walk off" the transverse process. Injections at one or multiple levels block the somatic and sympathetic innervation to these dermatomes (10).

Rare complications of thoracic paravertebral blocks include epidural spread, intrathecal injection, and Horner's Syndrome (1,11,12). One of the most feared complications of the traditional technique is pleural puncture, which has an incidence of 0.64% to 6.7% in the published literature (3,11,13).

Ultrasound guidance in regional anesthesia is gaining widespread popularity. This technology provides visualization of key anatomic structures and has been shown to decrease block placement and onset times (14,15) and improve patient comfort (15). Ultrasound-guided blocks are associated with success rates of greater than 90% (15,16). In the thoracic region, ultrasound can be used to identify the vertebral transverse processes, as well as the ribs and the pleura of the lungs (17). In this way, pleural puncture can be avoided during paravertebral block placement.

To date there have been no published prospective, randomized trials comparing the multiple injection thoracic paravertebral technique using ultrasound guidance to general anesthesia in breast cancer surgery patients.

Our hypothesis is that paravertebral block anesthesia will result in shorter Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) stays and decreased Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores when compared to general anesthesia in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery. Secondary endpoints will include the need for postoperative opioids and the presence of nausea and/or vomiting.

Conditions

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Breast Cancer

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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Paravertebral Block

Patients receiving Paravertebral Block.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Paravertebral Block

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Sedation will be provided with midazolam and fentanyl. The transverse processes of T1-T6 will be located using ultrasound guidance. The area will be prepped with betadine. At each level, a 21 Gauge, 4-inch Stimuplex needle will be inserted in order to make contact with the transverse process. Once the transverse process has been located, the needle will be "walked off" the process and inserted 1 cm deep to its inferior border. After negative aspiration, 3 mL of 1.5% mepivacaine with epinephrine 1:200,000 and bicarbonate and 3 mL of 0.5% bupivacaine with epinephrine 1:200,000 will be injected. Sedation will be provided with 50-100 mcg/kg/min of propofol during the surgical procedure. Approximately 20 minutes before the end of the procedure, 4 mg of zofran will be administered.

General Anesthesia

Patients receiving General Anesthesia.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

General Anesthesia

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Patients in the general anesthesia group will receive midazolam preoperatively for anxiolysis. Anesthesia will be induced with propofol and fentanyl. An LMA will be inserted and anesthesia maintained with sevoflurane in air and oxygen. 4 mg of zofran will be administered approximately 20 minutes before the end of the surgical procedure. The LMA will be removed and the patient will be transported to the PACU at the conclusion of the surgery.

Interventions

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Paravertebral Block

Sedation will be provided with midazolam and fentanyl. The transverse processes of T1-T6 will be located using ultrasound guidance. The area will be prepped with betadine. At each level, a 21 Gauge, 4-inch Stimuplex needle will be inserted in order to make contact with the transverse process. Once the transverse process has been located, the needle will be "walked off" the process and inserted 1 cm deep to its inferior border. After negative aspiration, 3 mL of 1.5% mepivacaine with epinephrine 1:200,000 and bicarbonate and 3 mL of 0.5% bupivacaine with epinephrine 1:200,000 will be injected. Sedation will be provided with 50-100 mcg/kg/min of propofol during the surgical procedure. Approximately 20 minutes before the end of the procedure, 4 mg of zofran will be administered.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

General Anesthesia

Patients in the general anesthesia group will receive midazolam preoperatively for anxiolysis. Anesthesia will be induced with propofol and fentanyl. An LMA will be inserted and anesthesia maintained with sevoflurane in air and oxygen. 4 mg of zofran will be administered approximately 20 minutes before the end of the surgical procedure. The LMA will be removed and the patient will be transported to the PACU at the conclusion of the surgery.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Women 18 years of age or older with suspected breast carcinoma scheduled for unilateral lumpectomy or mass excision with sentinel node biopsy and possible axillary dissection.

Exclusion Criteria

* A diagnosis of chronic pain, regular use of opioid medications, infection at the injection site, allergy to amide local anesthetics, bleeding disorder, contraindication to LMA, and patient refusal.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Weill Medical College of Cornell University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center

Principal Investigators

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Tiffany Tedore, M.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center

Locations

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New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center

New York, New York, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Pusch F, Freitag H, Weinstabl C, Obwegeser R, Huber E, Wildling E. Single-injection paravertebral block compared to general anaesthesia in breast surgery. Acta Anaesthesiol Scand. 1999 Aug;43(7):770-4. doi: 10.1034/j.1399-6576.1999.430714.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10456819 (View on PubMed)

McCartney CJ, Brull R, Chan VW, Katz J, Abbas S, Graham B, Nova H, Rawson R, Anastakis DJ, von Schroeder H. Early but no long-term benefit of regional compared with general anesthesia for ambulatory hand surgery. Anesthesiology. 2004 Aug;101(2):461-7. doi: 10.1097/00000542-200408000-00028.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15277930 (View on PubMed)

Coveney E, Weltz CR, Greengrass R, Iglehart JD, Leight GS, Steele SM, Lyerly HK. Use of paravertebral block anesthesia in the surgical management of breast cancer: experience in 156 cases. Ann Surg. 1998 Apr;227(4):496-501. doi: 10.1097/00000658-199804000-00008.

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Klein SM, Bergh A, Steele SM, Georgiade GS, Greengrass RA. Thoracic paravertebral block for breast surgery. Anesth Analg. 2000 Jun;90(6):1402-5. doi: 10.1097/00000539-200006000-00026.

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Karmakar MK, Booker PD, Franks R. Bilateral continuous paravertebral block used for postoperative analgesia in an infant having bilateral thoracotomy. Paediatr Anaesth. 1997;7(6):469-71. doi: 10.1046/j.1460-9592.1997.d01-118.x.

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Richardson J, Vowden P, Sabanathan S. Bilateral paravertebral analgesia for major abdominal vascular surgery: a preliminary report. Anaesthesia. 1995 Nov;50(11):995-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1995.tb05939.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Terheggen MA, Wille F, Borel Rinkes IH, Ionescu TI, Knape JT. Paravertebral blockade for minor breast surgery. Anesth Analg. 2002 Feb;94(2):355-9, table of contents. doi: 10.1097/00000539-200202000-00023.

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PMID: 11812698 (View on PubMed)

Evans PJ, Lloyd JW, Wood GJ. Accidental intrathecal injection of bupivacaine and dextran. Anaesthesia. 1981 Jul;36(7):685-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1981.tb08781.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Lonnqvist PA, MacKenzie J, Soni AK, Conacher ID. Paravertebral blockade. Failure rate and complications. Anaesthesia. 1995 Sep;50(9):813-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1995.tb06148.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 14570677 (View on PubMed)

Marhofer P, Sitzwohl C, Greher M, Kapral S. Ultrasound guidance for infraclavicular brachial plexus anaesthesia in children. Anaesthesia. 2004 Jul;59(7):642-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2004.03669.x.

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Sandhu NS, Manne JS, Medabalmi PK, Capan LM. Sonographically guided infraclavicular brachial plexus block in adults: a retrospective analysis of 1146 cases. J Ultrasound Med. 2006 Dec;25(12):1555-61. doi: 10.7863/jum.2006.25.12.1555.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17121950 (View on PubMed)

Pusch F, Wildling E, Klimscha W, Weinstabl C. Sonographic measurement of needle insertion depth in paravertebral blocks in women. Br J Anaesth. 2000 Dec;85(6):841-3. doi: 10.1093/bja/85.6.841.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11732516 (View on PubMed)

Greengrass R, O'Brien F, Lyerly K, Hardman D, Gleason D, D'Ercole F, Steele S. Paravertebral block for breast cancer surgery. Can J Anaesth. 1996 Aug;43(8):858-61. doi: 10.1007/BF03013039.

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Weltz CR, Greengrass RA, Lyerly HK. Ambulatory surgical management of breast carcinoma using paravertebral block. Ann Surg. 1995 Jul;222(1):19-26. doi: 10.1097/00000658-199507000-00004.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
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Najarian MM, Johnson JM, Landercasper J, Havlik P, Lambert PJ, McCarthy D. Paravertebral block: an alternative to general anesthesia in breast cancer surgery. Am Surg. 2003 Mar;69(3):213-8; discussion 218.

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Chhabra A, Roy Chowdhury A, Prabhakar H, Subramaniam R, Arora MK, Srivastava A, Kalaivani M. Paravertebral anaesthesia with or without sedation versus general anaesthesia for women undergoing breast cancer surgery. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Feb 25;2(2):CD012968. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012968.pub2.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 33629404 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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0801009584

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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