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CompletedNCT01604915Updated Jul 9, 2013

Comparison of Dexamethasone Added to Ropivacaine and Ropivacaine Alone in Caudal Analgesia in Children Undergoing Orchiopexy

An interventional study of Caudal block and Caudal block in Cryptorchidism, sponsored by Yonsei University. Completed at 1 site in Korea, Republic of. Open to male participants aged 6 Months to 5 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2013-07-09.

Sponsored by Yonsei University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
80
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
6 Months to 5 Years
Sex
Male
01

Study summary

Single shot caudal epidural block is one of the most widespread technique for pediatric pain management after infraumbilical surgical procedures.

However, in a significant proportion of patients, despite good initial analgesia from a caudal block with local anesthetic, pain develops after the block resolves.

In order to decrease postoperative analgesic requirements after caudal block, various drugs such as opioids, ketamine, clonidine, or dexmedetomidine to local anesthetics has been investigated. However, their use has been limited by adverse effects in children.

Recently, many study suggested that epidurally administered dexamethasone could reduce the incidence and severity of postoperative pain in adults. But there is no study concerning the use of dexamethasone, as an adjuvant agent for the caudal epidural block in children.

The investigators performed prospective randomized double-blind study to examine the analgesic effect of dexamethasone added to ropivacaine and ropivacaine alone in caudal analgesia on postoperative pain control in pediatric patients undergoing orchiopexy.

80 children (aged 0.5-5 yr) undergoing day-case orchiopexy were included in this prospective, randomized, double-blinded study. After inhalation induction of general anesthesia, caudal block was applied. Patients were randomly assigned in two groups. Normal saline 0.02mL/Kg added to ropivacaine 0.15% 1.5ml/kg was administered to Group R , dexamethasone 0.1mg/kg added to ropivacaine 0.15% 1.5ml/kg to Group DR. Postoperative pain was recorded at 30min and 1,2,3 h by using Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS, 0-10) and Faces Legs Activity Cry Consolability tool (FLACC, 0-10). Participants will be followed for the duration of hospital stay, an expected average of 3 hours.

After discharge, rescue analgesic consumption, pain scores, and adverse effects were evaluated for 24h.

The time to first supplemental oral analgesic medication demand was defined as the time from the end of surgery to the first registration of a VAS ( 0-10) ≥ 5 by parent's observation. Twenty-four hours after surgery, reports of delayed side effects and demands for rescue analgesics from the child were gathered from parents via a telephone interview.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cryptorchidism

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03

In context

Cryptorchidism

40 studies on the registry are indexed under Cryptorchidism; 14 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 80 is above the median of 70 across 26 interventional studies indexed under Cryptorchidism.

Browse Cryptorchidism studies →

Lead sponsor

Yonsei University is the lead sponsor of 1,418 studies on the registry; 241 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
6 Months to 5 Years
Sexes eligible
Male
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • ASA status I-II
  • Children aged 6 months to 5 years
  • Undergoing day-case unilateral orchiopexy

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • to any local anesthetics
  • Bleeding diathesis
  • Infections at puncture sites
  • Preexisting neurological disease
  • Diabetes mellitus
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
80 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Placebo comparator
    Group R

    Normal saline 0.02mL/Kg added to ropivacaine 0.15% 1.5ml/kg was administered.

    Procedure: Caudal block

  • Experimental
    Group DR

    Dexamethasone 0.1mg/kg added to ropivacaine 0.15% 1.5ml/kg to Group DR.

    Procedure: Caudal block

Interventions

  • ProcedureCaudal block

    After inhalation induction of general anesthesia, caudal block was applied. Patients were randomly assigned in two groups. Normal saline 0.02mL/Kg added to ropivacaine 0.15% 1.5ml/kg was administered to Group R.

  • ProcedureCaudal block

    After inhalation induction of general anesthesia, caudal block was applied. Patients were randomly assigned in two groups. Dexamethasone 0.1mg/kg added to ropivacaine 0.15% 1.5ml/kg to Group DR.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Time to first analgesic rescue medication

    The time to first supplemental oral analgesic medication demand was defined as the time from the end of surgery to the first registration of a VAS ( 0-10) ≥ 5 by parent's observation. Twenty-four hours after surgery, reports of delayed side effects and demands for rescue analgesics from the child were gathered from parents via a telephone interview.

    Time frame: from the end of surgery to the first registration of a VAS(0-10) ≥ 5 by parent's observation

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Severance hospital
    Seoul, 120-752, Korea, Republic of
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Khafagy HF, Refaat AI, El-Sabae HH, Youssif MA. Efficacy of epidural dexamethasone versus fentanyl on postoperative analgesia. J Anesth. 2010 Aug;24(4):531-6. doi: 10.1007/s00540-010-0949-7. Epub 2010 May 14. PubMed 20467878 ↗
  • Kim EM, Lee JR, Koo BN, Im YJ, Oh HJ, Lee JH. Analgesic efficacy of caudal dexamethasone combined with ropivacaine in children undergoing orchiopexy. Br J Anaesth. 2014 May;112(5):885-91. doi: 10.1093/bja/aet484. Epub 2014 Feb 2. PubMed 24491414 ↗
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Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of May 2012, a primary completion of Nov 2012 and a completion of Feb 2013. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
May 18, 2012
First posted
May 24, 2012
Start
May 2012
Primary completionActual
Nov 2012
CompletionActual
Feb 2013
Last update
Jul 9, 2013
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 9, 2013, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01604915
Lead sponsor
Yonsei University
Responsible party
Jeong-Rim LEE (Assistant Professor, Yonsei University) — Principal investigator
First posted
May 24, 2012
Start date
May 2012
Primary completion
Nov 2012
Completion
Feb 2013
Last update
Jul 9, 2013

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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