Pilot Study: Extended Regional Anesthesia for Prevention of Chronic Pain After Traumatic Injury
Abstract
The ultimate aim was to systematically test the hypothesis that a 5-day regional ambulatory popliteal nerve block in patients undergoing a defined surgery for traumatic ankle fracture would significantly reduce the development of chronic pain conditions. Ankle fracture surgery was chosen as a proxy for combat injuries because it is a common procedure in our clinical facilities, and because regional anesthesia for 5 days would be acceptable to patients and clinicians, not interfering with rehabilitation. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive 5-day regional block or standard care after ankle fracture surgery in an open-label pilot study. Ankle pain questionnaires (SEFAS) were given 4 times over the year following the surgery, and additional clinical data was obtained from medical records. The primary endpoint was the 12-month SEFAS score; this data will be submitted as an amendment when final data is received. 8 control and 6 regional block subjects were enrolled. The group receiving regional block had significantly improved pain scores 3 months after surgery. The primary difficulties noted were premature discontinuation of the pump due to catheter leakage, and limited recruitment. Data were obtained suggesting possible improvements and changes for a full-scale study.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 06, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1091073
Entities
People
- Brendan Southam
- Denise Richardson
- Dina Gomaa
- Judith Strong
- Jun-ming Zhang
- Richard Strilka
- Stuart Bertsch
- Tonya Dixon
- Victor Heh
- William Hurford
Organizations
- University of Cincinnati