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CompletedNCT01691690Updated Apr 6, 2017Results posted

Analgesic Effect of IV Acetaminophen in Tonsillectomies

A Phase 2 interventional study of Acetaminophen (paracetamol) and Normal Saline Flush in Adenotonsillitis and Tonsillitis, sponsored by Nationwide Children's Hospital. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 2 Years to 9 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2017-04-06.

Sponsored by Nationwide Children's Hospital · Phase 2, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
250
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
2 Years to 9 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is a first-line antipyretic and analgesic for mild and moderate pain for pediatric patients. Its common use (particularly in oral form) is underscored by its wide therapeutic window, safety profile, over the counter accessibility, lack of adverse systemic effects (as compared with NSAIDS and opioids) when given in appropriate doses.

Although the exact anti-nociceptive mechanisms of acetaminophen continue to be elucidated, these mechanisms appear to be multi-factorial and include central inhibition of the cyclo-oxygenase (COX) enzyme leading to decreased production of prostaglandins from arachidonic acid, interference with serotonergic descending pain pathways, indirect activation of cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptors and inhibition of nitric oxide pathways through N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or substance P. Of the above mechanisms, the most commonly known is that of central inhibition of COX enzymes by which the decreased production of prostaglandins diminish the release of excitatory transmitters of substance P and glutamate which are both involved in nociceptive transmission (Anderson, 2008; Smith, 2011).

To date, several studies have shown acetaminophen's opioid sparing effect in the pediatric population when given by the rectal or intravenous routes (Korpela et al, 1999; Dashti et al, 2009; Hong et al, 2010).

Read the detailed description

Once enrolled, subjects will have a standardized anesthetic on the day of surgery:

  1. Pre-medication with oral midazolam (0.5mg/kg to maximum dose of 20mg) given 15-20 minutes before induction
  2. Inhalation induction with sevoflurane and a mixture of N20/02
  3. Propofol 1-1.5 mg/kg to facilitate endotracheal intubation
  4. Morphine 0.1 mg/kg given prior to intubation
  5. Maintenance anesthesia with isoflurane, titrated to 0.8-1 Minimal Anesthetic Concentration (MAC) with a mixture of Air/02
  6. Acetaminophen IV (15 mg/kg) vs. saline placebo infused intraoperatively (randomized by pharmacy)
  7. Ondansetron (0.15 mg/kg, maximum dose of 4 mg) and dexamethasone (0.25 mg/kg, maximum dose of 20 mg) for postoperative nausea prophylaxis.

Following surgery and extubation, baseline vitals will be obtained and pain scores will be assessed in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU) via Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale (FLACC).The presence of emergence delirium will be assessed via Pediatric Agitation and Emergence Delirium scale (PAED). Those subjects whose pain score is assessed at \< 4 will receive standard postoperative care and no analgesics. Assessed pain scores > 4 will receive 0.5mcg/kg fentanyl q10 minutes as needed. Variables such as time to extubation in the PACU, time to first analgesic delivery, pain scores, # times/total dose of opioids given, presence of sedation, nausea/vomiting, duration of oxygen requirement in PACU, whether or not patient was discharged to floor on oxygen and total PACU time will be recorded during the duration of the patient's PACU stay. Subjects will be discharged to the inpatient floor from the PACU once standard discharge criteria have been met.

Following discharge from the PACU, standardized analgesics will be given for breakthrough pain (oral oxycodone 0.1mg/kg q4hrs pro re nata (PRN) pain). Enrolled patients will be followed during the duration of their inpatient stay. Duration of oxygen requirement on the floor, pain scores and number of administered oxycodone doses on the floor will be monitored and recorded.

02

Conditions studied

  • Adenotonsillitis
  • Tonsillitis

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03

In context

Tonsillitis

102 studies on the registry are indexed under Tonsillitis; 12 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 250 is above the median of 100 across 87 interventional studies indexed under Tonsillitis.

Browse Tonsillitis studies →

Lead sponsor

Nationwide Children's Hospital is the lead sponsor of 231 studies on the registry; 43 are open to participants now.

Of its 16 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 8 (50%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
2 Years to 9 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Male or female patients aged 2 years and younger than 9 years old requiring postoperative admission for tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy.
  2. Functional status as assigned by the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) classification of I (1), II (2) or III (3).
  3. Have a parent/guardian who are able to provide written informed consent in accordance with Human Investigations Committee/Institutional Review Board (HIC/IRB) regulations.
  4. Have parent/guardian who are compliant with routine medical care, capable of subjective evaluation and able to read, understand and sign the informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Male or female patients age greater than 9 years.
  2. Have an American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status > IV (4)(severe disease that is life threatening).
  3. Have a known hypersensitivity or allergy to acetaminophen.
  4. Have a known allergy or intolerance to morphine or fentanyl.
  5. Have received chronic opioid analgesic therapy prior to surgery.
  6. Have renal disease.
  7. Have hepatic disease.
  8. Are morbidly obese (% BMI > 95).
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Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator)
Enrollment
250 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    IV Acetaminophen

    Patients will receive pre-medication with oral midazolam Participants of this experimental arm of the study will receive Acetaminophen IV to evaluate opioid-sparing effect and pain score reduction..

    Drug: Acetaminophen (paracetamol) · Drug: Midazolam · Drug: Sevoflurane · Drug: Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen · Drug: Propofol · Drug: Morphine · Drug: Ondansetron · Drug: Dexamethasone

  • Placebo comparator
    Saline placebo infused intraoperatively

    For this arm Morphine will be administered to manage pain.

    Drug: Normal Saline Flush · Drug: Midazolam · Drug: Sevoflurane · Drug: Nitrous Oxide/Oxygen · Drug: Propofol · Drug: Morphine · Drug: Ondansetron · Drug: Dexamethasone

Interventions

  • DrugAcetaminophen (paracetamol)

    Acetaminophen IV (15 mg/kg).

  • DrugNormal Saline Flush

    Saline placebo will be infused intraoperatively.

  • DrugMidazolam

    Midazolam (0.5mg/kg to maximum dose of 20mg) given 15-20 minutes before induction.

    Also known as: Versed

  • DrugSevoflurane

    Sevoflurane for anesthesia induction.

  • DrugNitrous Oxide/Oxygen

    Combination of NO2 \& O2 for anesthesia induction.

  • DrugPropofol

    Propofol 1-1.5 mg/kg to facilitate endotracheal intubation.

  • DrugMorphine

    Morphine 0.1 mg/kg given prior to intubation.

  • DrugOndansetron

    Ondansetron (0.15 mg/kg, maximum dose of 4 mg) for postoperative nausea prophylaxis.

    Also known as: Zofran

  • DrugDexamethasone

    Dexamethasone (0.25 mg/kg, maximum dose of 20 mg) for postoperative nausea prophylaxis.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. FLACC Pain Score Greater Than or Equal to 4

    The Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability scale or FLACC scale is a measurement used to assess pain for children between the ages of 2 months and 7 years or individuals that are unable to communicate their pain. The scale is scored in a range of 0-10 with 0 representing no pain. 5 pain measurements were performed at 0, 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after PACU arrival. This is the number of participants who reached a FLACC score \>/= 4 at one or more time points.

    Time frame: 0-60 mins post-operatively

Secondary outcomes

  1. Analgesics Administered After Arrival to Inpatient Ward and Number of Participants Requiring Each

    Analgesics administered after arrival to the inpatient ward included hydrocodone/acetaminophen, oxycodone, NSAIDS, acetaminophen, and morphine.

    Time frame: 8-12 hours post-operatively

  2. Time of First Opioid Analgesia in PACU

    Mean time to first drug administration among patients requiring opioid analgesia in the PACU.

    Time frame: 0-90 minutes post-operatively

07

Results

Posted Apr 6, 2017

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneIV AcetaminophenSaline Placebo
Started125125
Completed118121
Not completed74

Outcome measures

PrimaryFLACC Pain Score Greater Than or Equal to 4

The Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability scale or FLACC scale is a measurement used to assess pain for children between the ages of 2 months and 7 years or individuals that are unable to communicate their pain. The scale is scored in a range of 0-10 with 0 representing no pain. 5 pain measurements were performed at 0, 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes after PACU arrival. This is the number of participants who reached a FLACC score \>/= 4 at one or more time points.

Time frame:
0-60 mins post-operatively
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
FLACC Pain Score Greater Than or Equal to 4
ParticipantsIV AcetaminophenSaline Placebo
FLACC Pain Score Greater Than or Equal to 45869
SecondaryAnalgesics Administered After Arrival to Inpatient Ward and Number of Participants Requiring Each

Analgesics administered after arrival to the inpatient ward included hydrocodone/acetaminophen, oxycodone, NSAIDS, acetaminophen, and morphine.

Time frame:
8-12 hours post-operatively
Reported as:
Count of participants · Participants
Analgesics Administered After Arrival to Inpatient Ward and Number of Participants Requiring Each
ParticipantsIV AcetaminophenSaline Placebo Infused Intraoperatively
hydrocodone/acetaminophen6857
oxycodone3139
NSAIDS1522
acetaminophen32
morphine10
SecondaryTime of First Opioid Analgesia in PACU

Mean time to first drug administration among patients requiring opioid analgesia in the PACU.

Time frame:
0-90 minutes post-operatively
Reported as:
Mean · minutes
Time of First Opioid Analgesia in PACU
minutesIV AcetaminophenSaline Placebo Infused Intraoperatively
Time of First Opioid Analgesia in PACU56.80 ± 14.1560.46 ± 20.51

Adverse events

Collected over Adverse event data were collected for each patient from pre-operative registration, peri-operatively, until hospital discharge post-operatively (Data collection occurred over the course of a 24 hour period).. Non-serious events are listed at a 2% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
IV Acetaminophen—0/118 (0%)11/118 (9.3%)
Saline Placebo—0/121 (0%)16/121 (13.2%)
Most frequent other events
Most frequent other events
EventIV AcetaminophenSaline Placebo
Respiratory complicationsRespiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders10/11812/121
Post-operative nausea or vomiting (PONV)General disorders1/1184/121

Baseline characteristics

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)IV AcetaminophenSaline PlaceboTotal
Mean4.87 ± 1.534.84 ± 1.424.855 ± 1.476
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)IV AcetaminophenSaline PlaceboTotal
Female6259121
Male5662118
Height (cm)
Height (cm)(centimeters)IV AcetaminophenSaline PlaceboTotal
Mean109.31 ± 10.82108.78 ± 10.37109.04 ± 10.58
Weight (kg)
Weight (kg)(kilograms)IV AcetaminophenSaline PlaceboTotal
Mean18.85 ± 4.7418.27 ± 4.0218.56 ± 4.39
Body Mass Index (kg/m2)
Body Mass Index (kg/m2)(Kg/m2)IV AcetaminophenSaline PlaceboTotal
Mean15.56 ± 1.5815.29 ± 1.3615.42 ± 1.47
Procedure time (min)
Procedure time (min)(minutes)IV AcetaminophenSaline PlaceboTotal
Mean15.85 ± 5.7816.65 ± 5.9016.26 ± 5.85
Extubation time (min)
Extubation time (min)(minutes)IV AcetaminophenSaline PlaceboTotal
Mean16.65 ± 7.6815.38 ± 8.5216.01 ± 8.12
Post-Anesthetic Care Unit time (min)
Post-Anesthetic Care Unit time (min)(minutes)IV AcetaminophenSaline PlaceboTotal
Mean64.57 ± 23.4165.07 ± 19.4064.82 ± 21.44

1 further baseline measures are reported on the registry.

08

Study locations

1 site
  • Nationwide Children's Hospital
    Columbus, Ohio 43205, United States
09

References and documents

Publications

  • Anderson BJ. Paracetamol (Acetaminophen): mechanisms of action. Paediatr Anaesth. 2008 Oct;18(10):915-21. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9592.2008.02764.x. PubMed 18811827 ↗
  • Smith HS. Perioperative intravenous acetaminophen and NSAIDs. Pain Med. 2011 Jun;12(6):961-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01141.x. Epub 2011 May 31. PubMed 21627768 ↗
  • Korpela R, Korvenoja P, Meretoja OA. Morphine-sparing effect of acetaminophen in pediatric day-case surgery. Anesthesiology. 1999 Aug;91(2):442-7. doi: 10.1097/00000542-199908000-00019. PubMed 10443608 ↗
  • Dashti GA, Amini S, Zanguee E. The prophylactic effect of rectal acetaminophen on postoperative pain and opioid requirements after adenotonsillectomy in children. Middle East J Anaesthesiol. 2009 Jun;20(2):245-9. PubMed 19583073 ↗
  • Hong JY, Kim WO, Koo BN, Cho JS, Suk EH, Kil HK. Fentanyl-sparing effect of acetaminophen as a mixture of fentanyl in intravenous parent-/nurse-controlled analgesia after pediatric ureteroneocystostomy. Anesthesiology. 2010 Sep;113(3):672-7. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181e2c34b. PubMed 20693884 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Apr 6, 2017, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01691690
Lead sponsor
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Responsible party
Arlyne Thung (Clinical Assistant Professor, Nationwide Children's Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 25, 2012
Start date
Oct 2012
Primary completion
Nov 2015
Completion
Jul 2016
Results posted
Apr 6, 2017
Last update
Apr 6, 2017

Study contacts

Arlyne Thung, MD
principal investigator · Nationwide Children's Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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