MedPath

Pre-emptive Scalp Infiltration With Dexamethasone Plus Ropivacaine for Postoperative Pain After Craniotomy

Phase 4
Completed
Conditions
Pain, Postoperative
Post-Craniotomy Headache
Interventions
Registration Number
NCT03618264
Lead Sponsor
Beijing Tiantan Hospital
Brief Summary

A majority of patients would suffer from moderate-to-severe postoperative pain after undergoing craniotomy. As a result, adequate pain control is essential for patients' prognosis and their postoperative life quality. Although opioids administration is regarded as the first-line analgesic for post-craniotomy pain management, it may be associated with delayed awakening, respiratory depression, hypercarbia and it may interfere with the neurologic examination. For the avoidance of side-effects of systemic opioids, local anesthetics administered around the incision have been performed clinically. However, some studies revealed that the analgesic effect of local anesthetics was not unsatisfactory due to its short pain relief duration. As is reported that postoperative pain of craniotomy is mainly caused by skin incision and reflection of muscles, preventing the liberation of inflammatory mediators around the incision seems to be more effective than simply blocking nerve conduction. Thus, Investigators suppose that pre-emptive scalp infiltration with steroid (dexamethasone) plus local anesthetic (ropivacaine) could relieve postoperative pain after craniotomy in adults.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
140
Inclusion Criteria
  • Patients scheduled for elective craniotomy for resection of a supratentorial tumour under general anaesthesia;
  • American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status of I or II;
  • Participates required to fix their head in a head clamp intraoperatively;
  • Participates with an anticipated fully recovery within 2 hours postoperatively.
Exclusion Criteria
  • History of craniotomy;
  • Expected delayed extubation or no plan to extubate;
  • Participants who cannot use a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device;
  • Participants who cannot understand the instructions of a numeral rating scale (NRS) 35 before surgery;
  • Extreme body mass index (BMI) (< 15 or > 35);
  • Allergy to opioids, dexamethasone or ropivacaine;
  • History of excessive alcohol or drug abuse, chronic opioid use (more than 2 weeks), or use of drugs with confirmed or suspected sedative or analgesic effects;
  • History of psychiatric disorders, uncontrolled epilepsy or chronic headache;
  • Pregnant or at breastfeeding;
  • Symptomatic cardiopulmonary, renal, or liver dysfunction or history of diabetes;
  • Preoperative Glasgow Coma Scale< 15;
  • Suspicion of intracranial hypertension;
  • Peri-incisional infection;
  • Participants who have received radiation therapy and chemotherapy preoperatively or with a high probability to require a postoperative radiation therapy and chemotherapy according to the preoperative imaging.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Dexamethasone plus Ropivacaine groupMiscible liquid of dexamethasone and ropivacaineParticipates received peri-incisional scalp infiltration of a miscible liquid of dexamethasone and ropivacaine. The local infiltration miscible liquid containing 0.33mg dexamethasone and 5mg ropivacaine per milliliter
Ropivacaine groupRopivacaineParticipates received peri-incisional scalp infiltration of 5mg/mL ropivacaine.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Cumulative sufentanil consumption within 48 hours postoperativelyWithin 48 hours after the operation

All participates will receive an electronic intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device in which the bolus dose of sufentanil will be set as 2 μg with a lockout interval of 10 min and the maximum dose will be limited as 8 μg per hour. If the participates feel inadequate analgesia after 5 times of sufentanil bolus, the bolus dose will be increased to 3 μg and the maximum dose will be increased to 12 μg per hour.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
The number of participants who have no sufentanil consumptionWithin 48 hours after the operation

The number of participants who have not pushed the button of patient-controlled analgesia pump. Both of the initial dose and background infusion of the patient-controlled analgesia pump in this study will be set as 0. Participates will be advised to push the analgesic demand button if they feel pain.

The first time to press the patient-controlled analgesia buttonWithin 48 hours after the operation

The first time that the participants press the patient-controlled analgesia button.

The duration of hospitalization after the operationApproximately 2 weeks after the operation
Postoperative nausea and vomitingAt 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours after surgery

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was rated by participates as: 0, absent; 1, nausea not requiring treatment; 2, nausea requiring treatment; and 3, vomiting.

Mean arterial pressureBefore anesthesia induction, after anesthesia induction, after scalp infiltration, during skull drilling, mater cutting, skin closure and at 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours after surgery
The total consumption of opioids during the operationDuring procedure
The total consumption of anaesthetic during the operationDuring procedure
The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREFAt 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after surgery

Quality of life will be measured using the World Health Organisation QoL-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. The WHOQOL-BREF is a abbreviated version of the WHOQOL-100 assessment. WHOQOL-BREF is a self-report questionnaire that contains 26 items and addresses 4 QOL domains: physical health (7 items), psychological health (6 items), social relationships (3 items) and environment (8 items). Two other items measure overall QOL and general health. Each domain's mean score can range between 4 and 20 and a higher score indicates a higher quality of life. The mean score of items within each domain is used to calculate the domain score. A transformation method converts domain scores to a 0-100 scale.

Patient and Observer Scar Assessment ScaleAt 6 months after surgery

The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale includes subjective symptoms of pain and pruritus and consists of 2 numerical numeric scales: The Patient Scar Assessment Scale and the Observer Scar Assessment Scale. It assesses vascularity, pigmentation, thickness, relief, pliability, surface area and overall opinion for a scar on a score of 1 (normal skin) to 10 (worst scar imaginable). and it incorporates patient assessments of pain, itching, color, stiffness, thickness, relief and overall opinion. Participants were asked to rate the severity of their scar compared to normal skin. The overall opinion scale score ranged from 1 (normal skin) to 10 (very different from normal skin).

Numerical rating scale of painAt 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after surgery

Pain was assessed after surgery by a numerical rating scale (0 indicates no pain, 10 indicates the most severe pain imaginable).

Respiratory depressionWithin 48 hours after the operation

Respiratory depression is defined as a respiratory rate less than 10 breaths per minute or oxygen saturation was less than ninety percent.

Heart rateBefore anesthesia induction, after anesthesia induction, after scalp infiltration, during skull drilling, mater cutting, skin closure and at 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours after surgery
The times of emergency reducing blood pressure after the operationWithin 48 hours after the operation

The criteria for treatment is determined by the participant's surgeon in charge.The times of emergency reducing blood pressure will be recording by the investigator.

Patient satisfactory scale (PSS)At 48 hours, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after surgery

0 for unsatisfactory, and 10 for very satisfied

Incisional related adverse events Incisional related adverse eventsWithin 1 month after surgery

Including delayed incisional healing, incisional infection, intracranial infection, scar healing

The total times that participants press patient-controlled analgesia buttonWithin 48 hours after the operation

The total times that participants press patient-controlled analgesia button including effective presses and ineffective presses.

Ramsay Sedation ScaleAt 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours after surgery

Ramsey 1: Anxious, agitated, restless; Ramsey 2: Cooperative, oriented, tranquil; Ramsey 3: Responsive to commands only If Asleep; Ramsey 4: Brisk response to light glabellar tap or loud auditory stimulus; Ramsey 5: Sluggish response to light glabellar tap or loud auditory stimulus; Ramsey 6: No response to light glabellar tap or loud auditory stimulus

Wound Healing ScoreAt 3 weeks and 6 weeks after surgery

Skin Healing

1: fully healed; 2: ≤3 cm in total not healed; 3: \>3 cm not healed; 4: areas of necrosis ≤3 cm; 5: areas of necrosis \>3 cm Infection

1: none; 2: ≤0.5-cm margin of redness; 3: more redness or superficial pus; 4: deep infection; not applicable Hair Regrowth

1: even regrowth along wound; 2: ≤3 cm not regrowing; 3: \>3-6 cm not regrowing; 4: \>6 cm not regrowing; not applicable

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Beijing Tiantan Hospital

🇨🇳

Beijing, China

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