Exparel Infiltration in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This is a randomized, single blinded, standard of care controlled clinical trial. All adult patients over sixteen desiring anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction will be eligible. The study compares pain control and opioid consumption in patients undergoing ACL reconstruction between patients receiving liposomal bupivacaine and those who underwent a preoperative femoral nerve block.

Detailed Description
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Study Design: A randomized single blinded standard of care controlled clinical trial comparing pain management interventions. All patients over age sixteen and scheduled for primary or revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL) a single fellowship trained sports surgeons will be eligible for inclusion. Patients will be excluded if their medical history presents known allergies or intolerance to dexamethasone, opioid or bupivacaine, substantial alcohol or drug abuse, and pregnancy. Secondary exclusion criterion is an intact ACL. Liposomal Bupivacaine has a refrigerated shelf life of one month in our facility. Patients will be sequentially recruited into the randomization process. Liposomal Bupivacaine will be held by the Henry Ford hospital pharmacy up to one month prior to planned anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in anticipation of surgery on eligible patients. The sterile solutions will be delivered to and kept by the inpatient clinical pharmacy until the date of surgery and delivered to the operating room at the beginning of a surgical case. The current dose of Liposomal Bupivacaine has been chosen based on previously published data of local infiltrative analgesia with Liposomal Bupivacaine and one published study on Liposomal Bupivacaine efficacy. The week prior to surgery, patients will be randomized to receive Local infiltration anesthesia (LIA) with Liposomal Bupivacaine, or Femoral nerve block (FNB) using a computer generated sequence. The results of randomization will be securely delivered to the anesthesiologist and the surgeon the week prior. The anesthesiologist will view the assigned group to determine if a preoperative FNB will be given. Depending on the randomization group either an Liposomal Bupivacaine solution will be delivered to the operating room for local infiltration or the anesthesiologist will perform a preoperative FNB. Patients in the Liposomal Bupivacaine group will receive LIA with 10cc(133mg) of Liposomal Bupivacaine solution dissolved in 20cc of sterile saline after harvest of the hamstring graft or patella tendon graft. The solution will be applied to the wound bed, graft site, and periosteum. The solution will be left unperturbed for five minutes. Thereafter the solution will be suctioned from the wound and the knee joint. Incisions will be closed in typical fashion and the wound dressed.The tourniquet will be deflated. Patient in the FNB will receive postoperative ultrasound guided FNB. Experienced anesthesiologists will apply all FNBs in this study. Following the procedure pain will be accessed subjectively through visual analog scale and numeric rating scale pain scores, pain diaries given to the patient to record at home, pain summary scores at follow up visits and objectively through narcotic pain requirement. A blind observer will also access outcomes. Planned Data Analysis: Means and standard deviations, as well as medians and interquartile ranges will be computed for pain scores.These outcomes will be compared by Wilcoxon rank sum tests. The amount of pain medication and pain scores will be compared by Wilcoxon rank sum tests.

Official Title
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Liposomal Bupivacaine Versus Femoral Nerve Block for Pain Control After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Prospective Randomized Trial

Conditions
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Pain

Intervention / Treatment
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* Drug: Liposomal bupivacaine
* Procedure: Femoral nerve block
* Drug: Ropivacaine


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Patients over the age of 16 scheduled for primary or revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction by one fellowship trained sports surgeon will be eligible for inclusion Exclusion Criteria: Patients will be excluded if their medical history presents known allergies or intolerance to dexamethasone, opioid or bupivacaine, substantial alcohol or drug abuse, and pregnancy. Secondary exclusion criterion is an intact ACL

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 16 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Femoral Nerve Block<br>Patients in this group received preoperative ultrasound guided femoral nerve blocks by senior anesthesiologist using ropivicaine. | Procedure: Femoral nerve block<br>* Pre-operative femoral nerve block<br>Drug: Ropivacaine<br>* Ropivicaine was used in all femoral nerve blocks<br>|
| Experimental: Liposomal Bupivacaine<br>Patients in this group received local infiltration of Liposomal bupivacaine before the end of surgery. | Drug: Liposomal bupivacaine<br>* Local infiltration of liposomal bupivacaine<br>* Other names: Exparel;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pain levels | Patients recorded pain lvls every four hours using VAS scales for four days post operatively | 4 days postoperatively | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Morphine equivalents | Patients recorded opioid intake for four days postoperatively | 4 days postoperatively | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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pain control, patient satisfaction, liposomal bupivacaine, Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction