Clinical trial NCT04685291: Ultrasound-guided Block of the Supraclavicular Nerves in Clavicular Fractures
Official title: Ultrasound-guided Block of the Supraclavicular Nerves for Clavicular Fractures in the Emergency Department
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Clavicular Fracture
Pain, Acute
Keywords: ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia
Clavicular fracture
Emergency Department
pain management
Lead sponsor: Merian Iselin Klinik
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2020-12-28
Enrollment: 42
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Prospective randomised single centre study
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: A Clavicular fractures (CF) is uncomfortable for the affected patients because the fragments are often strongly displaced by the muscles attached to them and the bony fragments move painfully with every movement of the shoulder. In emergency departments (ED), so far CF has been tackled with drugs that are taken by mouth or injected into a vein. This type of pain management has many side effects since these painkillers act systemically.

The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of pain relief in CF to be operated using regional anaesthesia. For this purpose, the supraclavicular nerves (SCN), which run directly under the skin of the neck, will be located using an ultrasound device (US). Under US-guidance the injection needle approaches the SCN and 2-3 millilitres of local aesthetic (LA) are injected around the nerves. The pain relief may last 12 up to 24 hours, which bridges the time until the operation (OP).

In order to compare this procedure, CF-patients will be divided into two groups, of which the control group (21) will be treated with painkillers in the conventional manner and the intervention group (21) will receive the US-guided block of the SCN.

With the small amount of LA injected, adverse events (AE) are very rare. Nevertheless, the puncture in the side of the neck may cause bruises at the site of the injection or uncomfortable, spreading pain. Systemic side effects are unlikely.

In the intervention group, the investigators expect a nearly complete pain relief up to the operation than with conventional pain therapy and a lower rate of side effects than with systemic administration of painkillers.

Detailed description: In 2013 Tran and colleagues reported about a controversial knowledge concerning the sensory innervation of the clavicle which may lead to different approaches of regional analgesia (RA) in CF: superficial cervical plexus blocks, interscalene blocks, and combined superficial cervical plexus-interscalene blocks. Since the innervation of the clavicle comes from four nerves (supraclavicular nerves, subclavian nerve, long thoracic nerve and suprascapular nerve) it seams to be quite difficult to guarantee a complete sensible clavicular block for an operation. Nevertheless, few case reports exist, witch describe clavicle operations under RA alone. However, in these cases a considerable amount of local anaesthetics (LA) has been used that it may be assumed that there could have been dangerous side effects.

Valdés-Vilches and Sánchez-del Águila pronounced the importance of the supraclavicular nerves (SCN) in CF. For that reason, our purpose is to determine the effectivity of a single nerve block of SCN in CF in the ED with only 2-3 millilitres of LA. The aim of our study is to investigate the effectiveness of this method in CF to be operated up to 24 hours later. For this purpose, the SCN, which run directly under the skin of the neck, will be located using an ultrasound device (US). Under US-guidance the injection needle approaches the SCN and 2-3 millilitres of LA are injected around the nerves. The pain relief may last 12 up to 24 hours, which bridges the time until the operation (OP).

In order to compare this new procedure, CF-patients will be divided into two groups, of which the control group (20) will be treated with painkillers in the conventional manner and the intervention group (20) will receive the US-guided block of the SCN.

The following medical products and medicaments will be used, which are all already registered and authorised in Switzerland:

* US-machines: Samsung HS60 High-End with linear-probe (array) LA4-18BD; Samsung RS85 Premium Radiology with linear probe LA4-18B.
* Needle: PAJUNK SonoTAP 24 Gauge x 40mm
* LA: 3 ml Bupivacaine 0.5% +75mcg Clonidine as an adjuvant. The LA will be used in accordance with the prescribing information. The dose will be up to 10 fold lower than the usual used dosages in cervical nerve blocks, since with US-guidance there will be an excellent accuracy to approach the desired single nerve.

In the intervention group, the investigators expect a nearly complete pain relief up to the operation than with conventional pain management and a lower rate of side effects than with systemic administration of painkillers.

With the small amount of LA injected, adverse events (AE) are expected very rare. Nevertheless, the puncture in the side of the neck may cause bruises at the site of the injection or uncomfortable, spreading pain. Systemic side effects are unlikely. A well-known and much feared AE of RA of the brachial and cervical plexus is accidental anaesthesia of the phrenic nerve, which runs from the neck to the diaphragm near the four aforementioned nerves. The paralysis of the phrenic nerve by the injected LA can cause breathing difficulties because the diaphragm is the main breathing muscle. Another possible complication is a drop in blood pressure and heart rate, which can result from anaesthesia of the autonomic nerves in the neck. For these reasons, RA of the brachial and cervical plexus should be performed with as little LA as possible. However, if the SCN-block is performed correctly, the LA can neither reach the phrenic nerve nor the vegetative nerves, since the SCN lays outside the prevertebral layer of the deep cervical fascia, where the phrenic and the vegetative nerves lie within.

Preliminary investigations in our ED in the last two years have shown that 2-3 millilitres of LA are too small a quantity of fluid to reach the phrenic nerve or to cause serious systemic side effects through absorption.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* adult ED-patients with sonographic and / or radiologically diagnosed clavicular fracture, who are scheduled for operation within the next 24 hours
* older then 18 years
* no known allergies to local anesthetic drugs

Exclusion Criteria:

* refusal of the procedure by the patient
* infection at the site of possible injection of local anaesthetics
* known allergies against local anaesthetics
* inability of consent or no carer

Primary outcomes:
measure: Numeric Rating Scale
timeFrame: within the first 24 hours after ED-Admission or until the operation
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Painkillers in milligrams until surgery
timeFrame: within the first 24 hours after ED-Admission or until the operation
measure: Painkillers in milligrams after surgery
timeFrame: within the first 24 hours after ED-Admission after the operation
measure: Patient Questionnaire
timeFrame: Within the first 24 hours after ED-Admission or after operation
measure: Incidence of side effects
timeFrame: within the first 24 hours after ED-Admission
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Basel
country: Switzerland
facility: Merian Iselin Klinik
Study officials:
affiliation: Merian Iselin Klinik
name: Eckehart Schöll, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Tran DQ, Tiyaprasertkul W, Gonzalez AP. Analgesia for clavicular fracture and surgery: a call for evidence. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2013 Nov-Dec;38(6):539-43. doi: 10.1097/AAP.0000000000000012.
citation: Shanthanna H. Ultrasound guided selective cervical nerve root block and superficial cervical plexus block for surgeries on the clavicle. Indian J Anaesth. 2014 May;58(3):327-9. doi: 10.4103/0019-5049.135050.
citation: Ueshima H, Otake H. Successful clavicle fracture surgery performed under selective supraclavicular nerve block using the new subclavian approach. JA Clin Rep. 2016;2(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s40981-016-0061-6. Epub 2016 Nov 8.
citation: Valdes-Vilches LF, Sanchez-del Aguila MJ. Anesthesia for clavicular fracture: selective supraclavicular nerve block is the key. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2014 May-Jun;39(3):258-9. doi: 10.1097/AAP.0000000000000057. No abstract available.
citation: Popping DM, Elia N, Marret E, Wenk M, Tramer MR. Clonidine as an adjuvant to local anesthetics for peripheral nerve and plexus blocks: a meta-analysis of randomized trials. Anesthesiology. 2009 Aug;111(2):406-15. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181aae897.
citation: Wadlund DL. Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity. AORN J. 2017 Nov;106(5):367-377. doi: 10.1016/j.aorn.2017.08.015.