Clinical trial NCT00130104: Transthecal Metacarpal Block Versus Traditional Digital Block for Painful Finger Procedures in Children
Official title: Transthecal Metacarpal Block vs Traditional Digital Block for Painful Finger Procedures in Children
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE4
Conditions: Finger Injuries
Keywords: digital block
regional anesthesia
finger repair
Fingers
Anesthesia, Conduction
Lead sponsor: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: University of Pennsylvania
First posted: 2005-08-15
Enrollment: 92
Sex: ALL
Maximum age (years): 18
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to determine if the transthecal metacarpal block is superior to the traditional digital block for regional digital anesthesia in children.

Detailed description: Background: Finger injuries and infections are common presenting problems in the pediatric emergency department. A traditional digital block, requiring at least two injections of anesthetic, is the traditional method of regional anesthesia for many finger procedures. Digital blocks can sometimes be difficult to administer and assess for effectiveness especially in children. A newer procedure, the transthecal metacarpal block, may be easier to administer, and more effective with one injection.

Objective: To determine if the transthecal metacarpal block (MCB) provides superior digit anesthesia in children requiring painful finger procedures as compared to the traditional digital block (TDB).

Methods: A randomized clinical trial comparing the MCB to the TDB will be conducted in an urban, tertiary care pediatric emergency department. Children \<18 years of age, presenting to the emergency department with a finger injury or infection, which requires regional anesthesia for repair will be screened for eligibility. Eligible patients, with appropriate consent will be randomized to receive either the MCB or TDB with 1% Lidocaine. The primary outcome, success of the block will be assessed using pinprick testing after a standardized wait time. Secondary outcomes including pain with the block and repair, repairing physician satisfaction, and short-term complications will also be assessed.

Implications: Finding successful methods of anesthesia and pain control are paramount in the pediatric emergency department. In addition, using a type of digital block which is easy to administer, successful, and requires only one injection would give physicians confidence to treat finger injuries in children with regional anesthesia and possibly avoid procedural sedation in some cases. To date, no studies have been published on the efficacy of digital blocks in children. This study will also serve to give baseline success rates for both types of digital blocks.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Age \<18 years
* Greater than 10 kg in weight
* Have finger injuries or infections that will require digital regional anesthesia
* Require only local anesthesia for the repair
* English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

* Have previous participation in this study
* Need procedural sedation at the onset of the repair
* Have allergy to lidocaine or amide-type local anesthetics
* Have infection at the sites of block injection
* Have known coagulopathy

Primary outcomes:
measure: Success of the two types of digital blocks
timeFrame: immediate
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Pain experienced with the digital block
timeFrame: immediate
measure: Repairing physician satisfaction with the procedure
timeFrame: immediate
measure: complications associated with digital block
timeFrame: 30 days
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: The Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia Emergency Department
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Emergency Medicine
name: Elizabeth R Alpern, MD, MSCE
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
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