Conditions: Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee
Keywords: Knee Arthroplasty, Total Liposomal Bupivicaine
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 38
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
This study seeks to determine whether a new sustained-release local anesthetic solution (Exparel - Liposomal Bupivacaine) injected into the soft tissues around the joint after surgery will decrease opioid consumption and adverse events in opioid-tolerant patients presenting for total knee arthroplasty. The research hypothesis is that the Exparel (study) group will use less opioid in the first 48 hours post-operatively than the control group.

Detailed description:
Opioids have been prescribed with increasing frequency for non-acute, non-cancer pain in the last 15 years. Because of this, opioid tolerance in the general population has grown markedly, and opioid tolerant patients can be especially difficult to manage in the perioperative period. In general, they require much higher doses of opioids to obtain similar levels of pain-control compared to opioid-naïve patients and are susceptible to respiratory depression and other adverse events. This study seeks to determine whether a new sustained-release local anesthetic solution (Exparel - Liposomal Bupivacaine) injected into the soft tissues around the joint after surgery will decrease opioid consumption and adverse events in opioid-tolerant patients presenting for total knee arthroplasty.

Arms:
arm 1: Instead of injecting the standard joint injection for a case of total knee arthroplasty, Exparel-Liposomal Bupivicaine will be administered at the end of the surgery. A new sustained-release local anesthetic solution (Bupivacaine Liposome Injectable Suspension) will be injected into the soft tissues around the join after surgery. Exparel is a novel-composition of bupivacine in which the drug is dissolved into liposomes which release it slowly over a period of 72 hours. arm 2: A standard joint injection of 100ml (Clonidine 80 mcg, Epinephrine 0.5mg, Ketorolac 30mg, Ropivacaine 246.25mg, and Sodium Chloride 0.9% 48.45 ml) will be injected into the soft tissues around the joint after surgery.

Interventions: intervention 1: (Bupivacaine Liposome Injectable Suspension) intervention 2: Standard Preparation
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Instead of injecting the standard joint injection for a case of total knee arthroplasty, Exparel-lipsomal bupivacaine will be administered at the end of the surgery. intervention 2: A standard joint injection of 100ml (Clonidine 80 mcg, Epinephrine 0.5mg, Ketorolac 30mg, Ropivacaine 246.25mg, and Sodium Chloride 0.9% 48.45 ml) will be injected into the soft tissues around the joint after surgery.

Protocol document: