Evaluation of Continuous Saphenous Nerve Block to Supplement a Continuous Sciatic Nerve Block After Ankle Surgery

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Orthopedic Surgery of Lower Extremity

In brief

A nerve block catheter is a small tube placed next to a nerve through a needle, and the needle is then removed. Numbing medicine is dripped through the tube to reduce pain sensation from the nerve. The purpose of this research study is to test whether the placement of a second nerve block catheter, rather than a single injection for the saphenous nerve block will improve pain relief and/or reduce pain medication needed after surgery enough to justify two nerve block catheters. There are two nerves that carry pain sensations from the ankle, the large (sciatic) nerve and the smaller (saphenous) nerve. Patients undergoing ankle fusion or fracture surgery at Wake Forest University typically have a nerve block catheter placed next to the sciatic nerve to give local anesthetic (numbing medicine) for 24-72 hours. In addition, a single injection of local anesthetic is usually performed to block the saphenous nerve for 12-16 hours postoperatively.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01167907

Run by

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

People needed

32

Starts

2010-07-01

Expected to finish

2017-09-07

Last updated by the study team

2018-08-31

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 75. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• surgery for unilateral ankle arthrodesis
• surgery for open reduction and internal fixation of bi/tri malleolar fracture

You may not qualify if…

• coagulation abnormalities
• history of opioid addiction
• current chronic pain therapy with high dsoe opioid
• allergy to study medication
• failure of the sciatic nerve catheter

Where it is running

• Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center — Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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