NCT02453516

Brief Summary

Surgery for breast cancer is associated with significant pain. The serratus nerve block targets the interfascial plane either below or above the serratus muscle, blocking thereby the lateral cutaneous branches of the intercostal nerves. The purpose of this randomized controlled double-blinded study is to see whether the addition of a serratus nerve block to a general anesthesia results in a better postoperative pain control in patients undergoing surgery for breast cancer.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
40

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for phase_2

Timeline
Completed

Started Oct 2014

Longer than P75 for phase_2

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

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

October 29, 2014

Completed
7 months until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

May 13, 2015

Completed
12 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 25, 2015

Completed
4.3 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

September 11, 2019

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 11, 2019

Completed
Last Updated

January 13, 2020

Status Verified

January 1, 2020

Enrollment Period

4.9 years

First QC Date

May 13, 2015

Last Update Submit

January 7, 2020

Conditions

Keywords

Serratus BlockBreast Surgery

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Post-operative pain scores

    The patient's level of pain in the postoperative period will be evaluated by the use of a 100mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The mean of these scores at the 3 different time points will be calculated.

    Scores collected @ 3 different time points: admission to phase I recovery (PACU), admission to phase II recovery (day surgery unit), and discharge from day surgery unit The total time time is estimated to be up to 6 hours..

Secondary Outcomes (8)

  • Intraoperative opioid consumption

    Duration of actual surgical procedure

  • Post-operative opioid consumption

    End of surgical procedure until 7 days after surgery

  • Duration phase I and phase II recovery

    Admission to phase I recovery (PACU) until discharge from phase II recovery, total time is estimated up to 6 hours,

  • Opioid side-effects

    End of surgical procedure to 7 days following surgery

  • Block-related side-effects

    Completion of block to 3 months postoperatively

  • +3 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Serratus Block Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Patients will receive a preoperative ultrasound-guided serratus block with 0.4ml/kg (max.30ml) of ropivacaine 0.5% with 1:4000,000 epinephrine injected between the serratus anterior (superficial) and external intercostal (deep) muscles followed by subsequent general anesthesia

Procedure: Serratus BlockDrug: ropivacaineDrug: epinephrine

Placebo Block - Control Group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Patients will receive a preoperative placebo injection with a subcutaneous injection of 1ml normal sterile saline solution in the midaxillary line and the ultrasound probe will be used to simulate the pressure and block duration associated with the serratus block. These patients will then receive general anesthesia.

Procedure: Placebo BlockOther: sterile saline

Interventions

Ultrasound-guided nerve block using ropivacaine 0.5% (0.4ml/kg) injected between the serratus anterior and external intercostal muscles

Serratus Block Group
Placebo BlockPROCEDURE

Subcutaneous injection of 1ml sterile normal saline solution in the midaxillary line

Also known as: Control Group - Placebo Comparator
Placebo Block - Control Group

Drug indicated for regional anesthesia

Also known as: Naropin HCL
Serratus Block Group

Drug indicated to prolong the action of regional anesthesia

Also known as: Adrenaline Chloride
Serratus Block Group

Neutral injection (no drug involved)

Also known as: Sodium Chloride
Placebo Block - Control Group

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 80 Years
Sexfemale
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • ASA I to III (American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System)
  • undergoing unilateral primary or secondary breast surgery for cancer, specifically: lumpectomies with sentinel node biopsy or partial mastectomies or simple mastectomies, with or without sentinel node biopsy
  • day surgery procedures

You may not qualify if:

  • inability to understand or to provide consent
  • inability or unwillingness to comply with required follow-up assessments
  • psychiatric disorder affecting patient assessment
  • contraindication to regional anesthesia, e.g., coagulopathy
  • allergy to local anesthestic
  • chronic pain and/or chronic use of opioids with a daily use of over 30mg oxycodone or equivalent per day
  • contraindication to a component of multimodal analgesia
  • preexisting neuropathy with motor or sensory deficits in the area of the anterolateral chest wall
  • infection near the injection site
  • pregnancy
  • BMI \>35
  • complication or adverse events unrelated to the study intervention that precludes evaluation of the primary and secondary outcomes

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Women's College Hospital

Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1B2, Canada

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Abdallah FW, Patel V, Madjdpour C, Cil T, Brull R. Quality of recovery scores in deep serratus anterior plane block vs. sham block in ambulatory breast cancer surgery: a randomised controlled trial. Anaesthesia. 2021 Sep;76(9):1190-1197. doi: 10.1111/anae.15373. Epub 2021 Jan 25.

MeSH Terms

Interventions

RopivacaineEpinephrineSodium Chloride

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

AnilidesAmidesOrganic ChemicalsAniline CompoundsAminesEthanolaminesAmino AlcoholsAlcoholsBiogenic MonoaminesBiogenic AminesCatecholaminesCatecholsPhenolsBenzene DerivativesHydrocarbons, AromaticHydrocarbons, CyclicHydrocarbonsChloridesHydrochloric AcidChlorine CompoundsInorganic ChemicalsSodium Compounds

Study Officials

  • Richard Brull, MD FRCP

    Women's College Hospital

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
phase 2
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

May 13, 2015

First Posted

May 25, 2015

Study Start

October 29, 2014

Primary Completion

September 11, 2019

Study Completion

December 11, 2019

Last Updated

January 13, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-01

Locations