Adjuncts for Adductor Block: Dexamethasone,Dexmedetomidine, or Combination to Reduce Pain

NCT ID: NCT03643822

Last Updated: 2025-03-27

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

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE4

Total Enrollment

252 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2020-02-21

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

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The aim of this multi-centered study is to evaluate the effects of two distinct Adductor Canal Block (ACB) adjuncts, dexamethasone and dexmedetomidine, and their combination, on postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Repair.

Detailed Description

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Anterior cruciate ligament repair (ACLR) is a surgical procedure of the knee associated with moderate to severe postoperative pain lasting beyond 24 hours following surgery. Provision of adequate postoperative analgesia is a prerequisite for performing this procedure on outpatient basis. By virtue of their analgesic effects, peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs), such as adductor canal block (ACB), have thus become part of the care standard for this surgical procedure.

Though ACB provides effective pain relief, the duration of analgesia associated with this block is limited to eight hours postoperatively. As a result, patients having outpatient ACLR may experience severe pain following discharge, require additional opioid analgesics to control their pain, and even visit the emergency department for acute pain management. Consequently, perioperative care for the young outpatient population undergoing this procedure is an area where improvement is needed.

Mixing adjuncts with local anesthetics can prolong the duration of analgesia of PNBs; both dexmedetomidine and dexamethasone have been shown to effectively extend the duration of PNB analgesia by 60% and 80% hours, respectively. The use of dexamethasone is wide spread, and dexmedetomidine is progressively gaining popularity.

At Toronto Western Hospital, the use of adjuncts is left to the discretion of the anesthesiologists administering PNB; and dexamethasone is occasionally used to prolong block duration. The alternative approach to prolonging block duration is using ambulatory ACB catheters, but this is an expensive option that is applicable to select patients, and it is not available at the TWH.

Importantly, these adjuncts seem to exert their effect through independent mechanisms; thus there may be an advantage to combining adjuncts together. Further prolongation of the duration of analgesia is desirable, as the prolongation of block duration associated with each of these two adjuncts, alone, falls short of the duration of worst postoperative pain following ACLR. Consequently, the investigators aimed to explore whether the combination of these two adjuncts offers an incremental benefit over either of them alone, by examining their potential additive or synergistic effect.

This randomized controlled trial compares the effect of using perineural dexamethasone, dexmedetomidine, and their combination to Control on the duration of postoperative analgesia in patients having ambulatory ACLR with ACB.

Conditions

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ACL Injury

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

FACTORIAL

There will be prospective,randomized,controlled,parallel group,factorial,1:1:1:1 allocation,operator,patient and assessor blinded clinical trial.
Primary Study Purpose

OTHER

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Outcome Assessors
Patients who give written informed consent will be randomly assigned on the day of surgery to either of the four study groups using a computer-generated block randomization schedule in blocks of varying sizes. Group allocation will not be disclosed to the anesthesiologist performing the ACB. An anesthesia assistant will receive an opaque envelope containing the result of randomization, and will prepare the block study solution in identical syringes. The patient receiving ACB will also be blinded to the study solution injected. Furthermore, outcome assessment will be performed by a blinded research assistant.

Study Groups

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Dexamethasone vs. Control comparison

Freezing + dexamethasone(4mg)+1 ml of saline

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Dexamethasone 4mg

Intervention Type DRUG

To guarantee rapid onset as well as effective postoperative analgesia, a 20 mL volume of local anesthetic has been selected for performing the ACB. The block solution will be a 20 ml volume for all groups, prepared by mixing 18 ml of ropivacaine 0.5% mixed with an additional 2 ml prepared according to the randomization.

Saline

Intervention Type OTHER

Control/Placebo intervention

Dexmedetomidine vs. Control comparison

Freezing + dexmedetomidine(50ug) + 1.5 ml of saline

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Dexmedetomidine

Intervention Type DRUG

To guarantee rapid onset as well as effective postoperative analgesia, a 20 mL volume of local anesthetic has been selected for performing the ACB. The block solution will be a 20 ml volume for all groups, prepared by mixing 18 ml of ropivacaine 0.5% mixed with an additional 2 ml prepared according to the randomization.

Saline

Intervention Type OTHER

Control/Placebo intervention

Dexamethasone and Dexmedetomidine

Freezing+dexamethasone(4mg)+dexmedetomidine(50ug) + 0.5 ml of saline

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Dexamethasone 4mg

Intervention Type DRUG

To guarantee rapid onset as well as effective postoperative analgesia, a 20 mL volume of local anesthetic has been selected for performing the ACB. The block solution will be a 20 ml volume for all groups, prepared by mixing 18 ml of ropivacaine 0.5% mixed with an additional 2 ml prepared according to the randomization.

Dexmedetomidine

Intervention Type DRUG

To guarantee rapid onset as well as effective postoperative analgesia, a 20 mL volume of local anesthetic has been selected for performing the ACB. The block solution will be a 20 ml volume for all groups, prepared by mixing 18 ml of ropivacaine 0.5% mixed with an additional 2 ml prepared according to the randomization.

Saline

Intervention Type OTHER

Control/Placebo intervention

Control Group-Placebo

Freezing + 2ml saline

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

Saline

Intervention Type OTHER

Control/Placebo intervention

Interventions

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Dexamethasone 4mg

To guarantee rapid onset as well as effective postoperative analgesia, a 20 mL volume of local anesthetic has been selected for performing the ACB. The block solution will be a 20 ml volume for all groups, prepared by mixing 18 ml of ropivacaine 0.5% mixed with an additional 2 ml prepared according to the randomization.

Intervention Type DRUG

Dexmedetomidine

To guarantee rapid onset as well as effective postoperative analgesia, a 20 mL volume of local anesthetic has been selected for performing the ACB. The block solution will be a 20 ml volume for all groups, prepared by mixing 18 ml of ropivacaine 0.5% mixed with an additional 2 ml prepared according to the randomization.

Intervention Type DRUG

Saline

Control/Placebo intervention

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

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Preservative free Dexamethasone Dexmedetomidine Hydrochloride 0.5 MG/ML

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* English Speaking
* ASA 1-3 patients
* BMI \<40

Exclusion Criteria

* Refusal or inability to provide informed consent
* Any contraindication to regional anesthesia including coagulopathy or bleeding diathesis, allergy to local anesthetics, infection, nerve injury or malignancy at the site of the block
* History of alcohol/drug dependence
* History of long term opioid intake or chronic pain disorder
* History of preexisting neuropathy in the operative leg
* History of significant psychiatric conditions that may affect patient assessment
* Inability to understand the informed consent and demands of the study
* Allergy to any of the components of the multimodal analgesic regimen
* Revision of ACL repair
* Diabetes
* Significant bradycardia (baseline heart rate ≤ 40 beats per minute)
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

50 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University Health Network, Toronto

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Women's College Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Richard Brull, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Women's College Hospital

Locations

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Women's College Hospital

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Canada

Central Contacts

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Didem Bozak

Role: CONTACT

416-323-6008

Facility Contacts

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Richard Brull, MD

Role: primary

416-323-6400 ext. 4239

Didem Bozak

Role: backup

416-323-6400 ext. 6008

Other Identifiers

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2018-0164-B

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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