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The Effect of High-dose Remifentanil on Established Sunburn-induced Hyperalgesia in Human Volunteers (HighDose RemiSun)

Phase 4
Conditions
Hyperalgesia
Interventions
Registration Number
NCT01015482
Lead Sponsor
Medical University of Vienna
Brief Summary

Treatment of chronic pain is a major clinical challenge since chronic pain is frequent and leads to deterioration of quality of life. An injury or wound can lead to long term changes in the nervous system that make the skin more sensitive at and near the injury; this is termed hyperalgesia and occurs through long term depotentiation (LTP), i.e., a change in the synaptic interaction between neurons.

Opioids are the gold standard for the symptomatic therapy of moderate to severe pain. Now, in animal studies the investigators have discovered previously unrecognized effects of opioids.

UV-B irradaition of the skin of the thigh is an established model of priamary and secondary hyperalgeisa in humans. The investigators want to test the influence of remifentanil, an ultra-short acting opioid, on hyperalgesia observed after UV-B irradiation in human volunteers in a double blind cross-over prospective active placebo controlled clinical trial, at a dose corresponding to 0.7 µg kg-1 min-1.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
24
Inclusion Criteria
  • Body mass index between 15th and 85th percentile
  • Normal findings in the medical history and physical examination
  • Drug free for 1 week prior to the study day
Exclusion Criteria
  • Regular use of medication especially analgesics
  • Abuse of alcoholic beverages, drug abuse
  • History of asthma
  • Participation in a clinical trial in the 2 weeks preceding the study
  • Symptoms of a clinically relevant illness in the 2 weeks before the first study day
  • Resting systolic blood pressure > 135 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure > 85 mmHg
  • Acute skin diseases like sunburn on the relevant areas or skin lesions
  • Pregnancy or breast feeding
  • UV sensitive skin conditions, like Xeroderma pigmentosa

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
CROSSOVER
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
MidazolamMidazolamActive Placebo
RemifentanilRemifentanilRemifentanil Infusion
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Measure: Area of pin prick hyperalgesia0-6h
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Stimulus-response (SR) function to a set of modified rigid von Frey filaments (8-512 mN)0-6h
Heat pain threshold within the area of mechanical hyperalgesia0-6h
Mechanical pain threshold within the area of pin prick hyperalgesia, area of dynamic allodynia to brush0-6h
Adverse effects30 and 59 min after start of treatment

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Anaesthesia, Medical University of Vienna

🇦🇹

Vienna, Austria

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