NCT01840215

Brief Summary

Anaesthetic procedures in ophthalmology surgery have been a subject rapidly evolving in the past decades. When deciding for a retrobulbar block, the local injection of varying mixtures and volumes of fast-acting anesthetics (such as lidocaine) - with or without a vasoconstrictive agent (such as adrenaline) - coupled with Hyaluronidase have been the standard care to provide painless surgery while minimizing the possible risks such as increased intraocular pressure (IOP), brainstem anesthesia, toxic reaction and ocular blood flow changes. These iatrogenic-induced vascular dysfunctions have been also suggested to play a role in intra-operatory vision loss (a "wipe-out" phenomenon) in patients with advanced glaucoma. The rationale for the use of epinephrine in retrobulbar anesthesia is to slow absorption of the anesthetic in general circulation and thus to achieve a longer effect in the orbit. However, studies on ocular blood flow after adrenaline-containing compounds have consistently showed a decrease in ocular blood flow, thus raising the issue of whether it should be used in patients with known vascular dysfunction, namely glaucoma patients. Nevertheless, there has been no study to verify this claim concerning the safety of non-adrenaline containing anesthetics. Injecting a pre-determined volume of anesthetic compound behind the globe, regardless of its formulation has also been debated. The orbital pressure increase can lead to a number of adverse reactions, not only increasing IOP but also potentially decreasing vascular input by local compression. In glaucoma for instance, there has been suggested optic nerve sheaths to be less elastic than in healthy individuals, potentially making this structure less compliant to outside compression. These more rigid orbital tissues could also impair the orbit's ability to deal with the iatrogenic increased volume. As seen, the current concepts on the impact of ocular anesthesiology in the orbit and the vascular supply to the eye are limited to a small number of non-homogeneous studies. We aim to study this impact through a non-invasive, widely established ultrasound based method of ocular blood flow research (color Doppler Imaging). Potentially, our study could help determine a taylor-made choice of the anesthesiology procedure to apply to a specific patient, thereby advancing the current standard of care in ophthalmology.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
240

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for all trials

Timeline
Completed

Started Feb 2013

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

February 1, 2013

Completed
3 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

April 17, 2013

Completed
8 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

April 25, 2013

Completed
1.6 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 1, 2014

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 1, 2014

Completed
Last Updated

May 29, 2015

Status Verified

February 1, 2013

Enrollment Period

1.8 years

First QC Date

April 17, 2013

Last Update Submit

May 28, 2015

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Ocular blood flow change

    The investigators will test whether anesthetic procedures in ophthalmic surgery (topical, retrobulbar and general anesthesia) induce a change in retrobulbar blood flow. The difference in ocular blood flow velocities between pre and post anesthetic induction will be performed.

    Participants will be followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 2 hours

Study Arms (3)

Controls

Patients scheduled for elective ophthalmic surgery with no family history of glaucoma, an increased or asymmetrical cup/disc ratio or any other optic disc structural change (notching, disc hemorrhage) or an intraocular pressure (IOP) above 21 mmHg that could suggest possible glaucoma suspects.

Primary open-angle Glaucoma

Patients scheduled for an elective glaucoma surgery that present with a characteristic optic disc damage (based on cup/disc ratio, thinning of neuroretinal rim, notching, disk hemorrhages, etc.) and visual field defects, with at least one measurement of IOP of \>21 mmHg required

Normal Tension Glaucoma

Patients scheduled for an elective glaucoma surgery that present with a characteristic optic disc damage (based on cup/disc ratio, thinning of neuroretinal rim, notching, disk hemorrhages, etc.) and visual field defects, with at maximum recorded IOP of \< 21 mmHg.

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
Sampling MethodProbability Sample
Study Population

primary care setting

You may qualify if:

  • individuals over 18 years old
  • willing to sign an informed consent and able to comply with the requirements of the study

You may not qualify if:

  • history of ocular trauma
  • previous extraocular surgery
  • ocular disease other than the one motivating surgery
  • systemic diseases with ocular involvement like diabetes or Graves Ophthalmopathy

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

KU Leuven

Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Glaucoma, Open-Angle

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

GlaucomaOcular HypertensionEye Diseases

Study Officials

  • Ingeborg Stalmans, MD, PhD

    UZ Leuven

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
observational
Time Perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

April 17, 2013

First Posted

April 25, 2013

Study Start

February 1, 2013

Primary Completion

December 1, 2014

Study Completion

December 1, 2014

Last Updated

May 29, 2015

Record last verified: 2013-02

Locations