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Monitor-Guided Analgesia During General Anesthesia - Part I

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Pain
Pain, Postoperative
Nociceptive Pain
Analgesia
Opioid Use
Interventions
Procedure: Opioid administration in intervention groups
Procedure: Opioid administration in control group
Registration Number
NCT03303651
Lead Sponsor
Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf
Brief Summary

This prospective randomized clinical trial evaluates the effects of a monitor-guided opioid analgesia during general anesthesia. To date no standard-monitoring device exists to specifically reflect the analgesic component of general anesthesia. Quality and safety of general anesthesia are of major clinical importance and should be improved by limiting the opioid analgesic's dosage to the minimum amount needed. The study compares the effects of monitoring nociception during general anesthesia with different innovative techniques in comparison to routine clinical practice.

Detailed Description

This prospective randomized clinical study aims to investigate the effects of a monitor-guided opioid analgesia during general anesthesia by different monitoring systems in comparison to routine clinical practice. Many surgical procedures require general anesthesia. The main components of general anesthesia are hypnosis and analgesia, and anesthesiologists usually combine a hypnotic drug with an opioid analgesic.

Until today, however, there is no standard-monitoring of nociception to specifically reflect the analgesic component of general anesthesia. In clinical practice the opioid dosage is chosen by clinical judgment of the attending anesthesiologist based upon changes of heart rate, blood pressure, pupil size, lacrimation and sweating of the patient.

On the one hand, underdosage of opioids can cause nociception leading to an increased sympathetic tone, increase of plasma levels of stress hormones, nociceptive movements as well as increase postoperative pain. On the other hand, overdosage of opioids can lead to drug side effects such as nausea and vomiting, hemodynamic instability, an increase in recovery times, immunosuppression and an increase in postoperative pain by opioid-induced-hyperalgesia. Quality and safety of general anesthesia are of major clinical importance and can be improved by limiting the administration of opioid analgesics to the optimal individual dose needed. In the last years, different analgesia monitoring devices have been developed for monitoring nociception. The present study evaluates the effects of the administration of opioids during general anesthesia guided by three different monitoring systems in comparison to routine clinical practice. After institutional approval by the Ethics committee of the Medical Board of the City of Hamburg, Germany and obtaining patients' written informed consent the investigators randomize elective patients with major abdominal surgery for open radical prostatectomy into one of four treatment groups.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Male
Target Recruitment
48
Inclusion Criteria
  • Radical open abdominal prostatectomy scheduled in the operation theater where the study is conducted
  • > 18 years
Exclusion Criteria
  • Chronic pain therapy, e.g. out-of-hospital opioid therapy
  • Beta blocker and digitalis therapy
  • Eye disease with affection of pupil reactivity
  • Pacemaker therapy
  • Higher degrees of cardiac arrhythmias, e.g. atrial fibrillation
  • Pre-operative medication with steroids

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
SPI (Surgical Pleth Index)Opioid administration in intervention groupsOpioid administration (sufentanil) guided by by Surgical Pleth Index (SPI) derived from photoplethysmography performed by the device CARESCAPE B650 Patient Monitor from the manufacturer GE (General Electrics) Healthcare, Helsinki, Finland. Included in the monitoring system is a software that continuously calculates the SPI from normalized heart rate and pulse wave amplitude derived from finger plethysmography. The numerical index ranges between 0 (low sympathetic tone) and 100 (high sympathetic tone). A SPI score between 20 and 50 has been proposed as the target range to guide analgesics (15 - 17). 5 µg Sufentanil will be administered every 5 minutes if SPI score is calculated more than 50.
PPI (Pain Pupillary Index)Opioid administration in intervention groupsOpioid administration guided by Pain Pupillary Index (PPI) derived from Videopupillometry performed with the device AlgiScan manufactured by IDMed, Marseille, France. The device measures the degree of pupillary reflex dilation (PRD) following an electric nociceptive stimulation. It automatically increases the intensity of the electric stimulation from 10 to 60 milliampere depending on the degree of PRD and afterwards displays the PPI. The numerical index ranges from 0 to 10. A low PPI score indicates a deep analgesia, a high PPI score indicates an insufficient or light analgesia. A PPI score of 2 or 3 is supposed to represent an optimal level of analgesia according to the manufacturer. 5 µg sufentanil will be administered every 5 minutes if PPI score is calculated more than 3.
NOL (Nociception Level)Opioid administration in intervention groupsOpioid administration (sufentanil) guided by Nociception Level (NOL) derived from finger photoplethysmography performed with the analgesia monitoring device PMD200 manufactured by Medasense, Ramat Gan, Israel. The device continuously calculates the NOL with a multi-parametric approach from pulse rate, pulse rate variability, pulse wave amplitude, skin conductance level, skin conductance fluctuations, skin temperature and finger motion. The composite algorithm of the device analyses the data and the numerical index NOL is presented on a scale from 0 (no pain) to 100 (extreme pain) (18). A NOL score between 10 and 25 has been proposed as the target range to guide analgesics. 5 µg Sufentanil will be administered every 5 minutes if NOL score is calculated more than 25.
ControlOpioid administration in control groupOpioid administration (sufentanil) guided according to standard clinical practice of the attending anesthesiologist based upon changes of heart rate, blood pressure, lacrimation and sweating of the patient.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Intraoperative opioid consumption1 day

Compares the amount of intraoperative opioid administration (sufentanil) per minute of general anesthesia and per kg bodyweight between groups.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Postoperative pain level1 day

Postoperative pain level measured with the highest score in numeric pain rating scale (NRS).

Time to fit-for-discharge1 day

Postoperative recovery time: Time interval between postoperative tracheal extubation and the patient reaching fit-for-discharge criteria from the PACU to the ward.

Postoperative opioid administration1 day

Amount of postoperative opioid administration (piritramid) in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Piritramid is given if NRS score is \> 3.

Time to extubation1 day

Postoperative recovery time: Time interval between end of operation and tracheal extubation of the patient.

Release of stress hormones1 day

Amount of perioperative plasma level of cortisol and ACTH.

Patient satisfaction2-21 days

Patient satisfaction with the general anesthesia and pain management evaluated by a numeric rating scale.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Anesthesiology; Center of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Hamburg Eppendorf University Medical Center

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Hamburg, Germany

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