In patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy under general anaesthesia, does superficial cervical plexus blockade with the local anaesthetic bupivicaine affect post-operative blood pressure control?

Completed

• Conditions: Surgery: Carotid endarterectomy; Surgery; Carotid endarterectomy

• Registration Number: ISRCTN41318293
• Lead Sponsor: Record Provided by the NHSTCT Register - 2005 Update - Department of Health (UK)

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2005-09-30
• Last Update Posted: 13 January 2015

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: Not specified
• Target Recruitment: 54

Inclusion Criteria

The patients will be selected from all patients presenting for carotid endarterectomy. The vast majority of these patients are now seen in the vascular preadmission clinic by a consultant anaesthetist. This clinic will provide the opportunity to discuss the project with the patients. They would then be able to consider at home prior to admission whether or not to participate. Consent where relevant would then be taken at the time of admission. Approximately 100 patients undergo this operation annually in the trust. We need to recruit at least 54 patients and we would hope to achieve this over 1 year.

Exclusion Criteria

Patients will be excluded if they have a contraindication to a block, such as coagulopathy, thrombocytopenia, treatment with clopidogrel or multiple anti-platelet agents within one week of surgery. Other exclusions will be patient refusal and known local anaesthetic allergy. In order to account for the potential influence of beta-blockade, only patients on perioperative beta blockade will be studied. Patients will therefore be excluded if they have a contraindication to beta-blockade.

1. Patients will be excluded if they do not wish to take part in this trial
2. Contra-indication to beta blockage therapy
3. Increase risk of bleeding (ie patients with low platelet counts , coagulopathy associated with liver dysfunction, treatment with multiple antiplatelet agents or treatment with clopidogrel in the 7 days prior to surgery)
4. Patients with known allergy to local anaesthetics

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified