Cervical Plexus Versus Infiltration for Clavicular Operations (CERPICO)

Enrolling by invitation · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Clavicle Surgery, Clavicle Fracture, Acromioclavicular Joint, Coracoclavicular Ligament

In brief

Clavicle fractures are the most common fracture of the shoulder girdle, with young men being the most affected demographic. The incidence of clavicle fracture among military service members is 1.5-3x higher than the general adult population. While many clavicle fractures may be managed non-operatively, surgical intervention for clavicular fractures has shown improved functional outcomes in the active-duty Marine Corps population and an overall satisfactory return-to-duty rate. However, surgical fixation of the clavicle is associated with significant postoperative pain when no local anesthetic techniques are employed. Several regional anesthetic and local infiltrative analgesic regimens have been studied to improve postoperative pain control for clavicle ORIF with the authors concluding that intermediate cervical plexus block is the regional anesthesia therapy of choice for post-operative analgesia. A retrospective study by the same group determined that an intermediate cervical plexus block resulted in lower postoperative pain scores and opioid requirements than surgeon-administered local infiltration analgesia. This retrospective study unfortunately lacked participant blinding, randomization, a standardized anesthetic, consistent block technique, and protocolized postoperative analgesia. To date, no prospective trial has been performed directly comparing these two techniques. We propose, given the significance of clavicle fractures and corrective surgery in the military population, to study the efficacy of ultrasound-guided intermediate cervical plexus blocks as compared to local infiltration analgesia.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT06737237
Run by: Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune
People needed: 40
Starts: 2024-05-08
Expected to finish: 2028-02-08
Last updated by the study team: 2026-04-16

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 64. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Adults aged 18-64 years
Scheduled surgery of the clavicle, acromioclavicular joint, or coracoclavicular ligament at NMCL
ASA Physical Status Classification 1-3

You may not qualify if…

Emergent surgery
Concurrent surgery involving the glenobumeral joint or proximal humerus
Prior anaphylactic reaction or known intolerance to study medications
Patient reported or documented opioid use within the last 30 days unrelated to clavicular, AC joint, or CC ligament pathology

Where it is running

Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune — Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.