Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery - Exparel Study

NCT ID: NCT04864210

Last Updated: 2025-05-29

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: PHASE2
• Total Enrollment: 176 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-02-02
• Study Completion Date: 2025-01-30

Brief Summary

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) greatly decreased the number and types of surgery that required open thoracotomy. Initially it was thought that VATS would lead to a reduction of respiratory problems and less acute pain in patients when compared to patients receiving an open thoracic surgery. However, for reasons not clearly understood, a large number of patients who undergo VATS still experience moderate to severe post-surgical pain. Physicians are still faced with the challenge of providing care that will manage both the respiratory issues as well as manage acute pain. The goal of this study is to find the most suitable regimen to effectively manage post-VATS-related pain.

Detailed Description

The "promise" was that video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) would be associated with less severe pulmonary impairment and less acute post-operative pain compared to open thoracotomy. However, VATS can cause moderate to severe post-operative pain in a significant number of patients and the reason for this is not well understood. In addition it has been found that post-surgical pain can be a strong predictor for the development of chronic pain. Inadequate control of acute pain not only causes serious discomfort and significant respiratory problems, but it may place this population of patients at greater risk of chronic pain and prescription opioid dependence.

Current protocols to manage and/or reduce VATS associated pain include combining the use of regional anesthesia techniques with opioid and non-opioid analgesics. Recent studies have investigated the efficacy of intercostal blocks using liposomal bupivacaine after thoracic surgery. However, these studies lacked an active comparator population of patients.

The study is designed as a prospective randomized study evaluating intercostal blocks using liposomal bupivacaine. The control population of patients will be treated with a paravertebral block using plain bupivacaine.

Conditions

Pain, Postoperative

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Liposomal bupivacaine

The patient will receive an intercostal nerve block by the surgeon in the operating room after anesthetic has been administered. The surgeon will use thoracoscopic guidance to administer the intercostal nerve block. The medication used in this block will liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel).

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Liposomal bupivacaine

Intervention Type: DRUG

Surgeons will perform an intercostal nerve block in the operating room under thoracoscopic guidance while the patient is asleep under anesthesia. This intervention (block) is one of the standards of care but the medication (liposomal bupivacaine) currently is not FDA approved for this type of block.

Bupivacaine

The patient will receive a paravertebral block by the anesthesiologist staffing the pain service area within the hospital prior to surgery. This regional anesthesia will be done using ultrasound guidance. The medication used in this block will be plain bupivacaine with epinephrine.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Bupivacaine

Intervention Type: DRUG

An anesthesiologist trained in regional anesthesia will perform a paravertebral block in the hospital's pain service unit. This intervention is standard of care and will use plain bupivacaine with epinephrine as the medication

Interventions

Liposomal bupivacaine

Surgeons will perform an intercostal nerve block in the operating room under thoracoscopic guidance while the patient is asleep under anesthesia. This intervention (block) is one of the standards of care but the medication (liposomal bupivacaine) currently is not FDA approved for this type of block.

Intervention Type: DRUG

Bupivacaine

An anesthesiologist trained in regional anesthesia will perform a paravertebral block in the hospital's pain service unit. This intervention is standard of care and will use plain bupivacaine with epinephrine as the medication

Intervention Type: DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Age over 18 years and less than 80 years
• Undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) procedure
• BMI less than 40

Exclusion Criteria

• Unable to provide informed consent
• Non-English speaking
• Pregnant
• BMI greater than 40
• Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery pleurodesis subjects
• Patients with pre-existing chronic pain
• Opioid tolerance
• Pain syndromes including fibromyalgia, regional pain syndrome or post therapeutic neuralgia in a thoracic distribution
• Allergy to the study medication
• Patients with infectious disease
• Patients with impaired coagulation
• Severe hepatic disease
• Incarcerated

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 80 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

American Society of Regional Anesthesia

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Nada Sadek

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Nada Sadek

Clinical Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Nada Sadek, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Iowa

Locations

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa, United States

Countries

United States

References

Bayman EO, Parekh KR, Keech J, Larson N, Vander Weg M, Brennan TJ. Preoperative Patient Expectations of Postoperative Pain Are Associated with Moderate to Severe Acute Pain After VATS. Pain Med. 2019 Mar 1;20(3):543-554. doi: 10.1093/pm/pny096.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 29878248 (View on PubMed)

Bayman EO, Parekh KR, Keech J, Selte A, Brennan TJ. A Prospective Study of Chronic Pain after Thoracic Surgery. Anesthesiology. 2017 May;126(5):938-951. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000001576.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 28248713 (View on PubMed)

Furrer M, Rechsteiner R, Eigenmann V, Signer C, Althaus U, Ris HB. Thoracotomy and thoracoscopy: postoperative pulmonary function, pain and chest wall complaints. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 1997 Jul;12(1):82-7. doi: 10.1016/s1010-7940(97)00105-x.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 9262085 (View on PubMed)

Steegers MA, Snik DM, Verhagen AF, van der Drift MA, Wilder-Smith OH. Only half of the chronic pain after thoracic surgery shows a neuropathic component. J Pain. 2008 Oct;9(10):955-61. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2008.05.009. Epub 2008 Jul 16.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 18632308 (View on PubMed)

Steinthorsdottir KJ, Wildgaard L, Hansen HJ, Petersen RH, Wildgaard K. Regional analgesia for video-assisted thoracic surgery: a systematic review. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2014 Jun;45(6):959-66. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezt525. Epub 2013 Nov 27.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 24288340 (View on PubMed)

Adhikary SD, Pruett A, Forero M, Thiruvenkatarajan V. Erector spinae plane block as an alternative to epidural analgesia for post-operative analgesia following video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: A case study and a literature review on the spread of local anaesthetic in the erector spinae plane. Indian J Anaesth. 2018 Jan;62(1):75-78. doi: 10.4103/ija.IJA_693_17.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 29416155 (View on PubMed)

Shariat A, Bhatt H. Successful Use of Serratus Plane Block as Primary Anesthetic for Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS)-Assisted Pleural Effusion Drainage. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2018 Feb;32(1):e31-e32. doi: 10.1053/j.jvca.2017.10.038. Epub 2017 Oct 31. No abstract available.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 29199049 (View on PubMed)

Khalil KG, Boutrous ML, Irani AD, Miller CC 3rd, Pawelek TR, Estrera AL, Safi HJ. Operative Intercostal Nerve Blocks With Long-Acting Bupivacaine Liposome for Pain Control After Thoracotomy. Ann Thorac Surg. 2015 Dec;100(6):2013-8. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2015.08.017. Epub 2015 Oct 24.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 26507422 (View on PubMed)

Parascandola SA, Ibanez J, Keir G, Anderson J, Plankey M, Flynn D, Cody C, De Marchi L, Margolis M, Blair Marshall M. Liposomal bupivacaine versus bupivacaine/epinephrine after video-assisted thoracoscopic wedge resectiondagger. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2017 Jun 1;24(6):925-930. doi: 10.1093/icvts/ivx044.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 28329326 (View on PubMed)

Rice DC, Cata JP, Mena GE, Rodriguez-Restrepo A, Correa AM, Mehran RJ. Posterior Intercostal Nerve Block With Liposomal Bupivacaine: An Alternative to Thoracic Epidural Analgesia. Ann Thorac Surg. 2015 Jun;99(6):1953-60. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2015.02.074. Epub 2015 Apr 23.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 25912739 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

201901777

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id