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CompletedNCT01759459Updated Jul 15, 2022Results posted

Local Anesthetics for Pain Reduction Prior to IV Line Placement

A Phase 4 interventional study of Lidocaine and Buffered Lidocaine in Pain and Local Anesthesia for Peripheral Intravenous Catheterization, sponsored by Allina Health System. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-07-15.

Sponsored by Allina Health System · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
150
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to compare the pain level felt by patients when receiving placement of a peripheral intravenous catheter (IV line) following the administration of a local anesthetic. The local anesthetics tested will be lidocaine, buffered lidocaine, and bacteriostatic normal saline. Lidocaine is commonly used as a premedication for reducing the pain upon insertion of peripheral IV lines. However, due to its acidic nature, the lidocaine itself may cause pain upon administration. To help counter this discomfort, pharmacies can "buffer" the lidocaine using sodium bicarbonate, which increases the pH to a neutral value, resulting in less pain. Bacteriostatic normal saline has also been used for local anesthesia with peripheral IV placement, particularly in patients with a lidocaine allergy, as it contains benzyl alcohol which acts as a local anesthetic.

There are minimal reports from the literature that directly compare patient reported pain of all three agents to one another, although studies do exist that have compared buffered lidocaine versus lidocaine and buffered lidocaine versus bacteriostatic normal saline. To address this comparison gap, the following research questions need to be asked: which anesthetic agent is the superior premedication for reducing the amount of pain upon administration of the local anesthetic itself and for the pain associated with the peripheral insertion of the catheter? The hypothesis of the investigators is that there is not a significant difference in the degree of pain scales between the anesthetic agents to justify the pharmacoeconomic costs associated with compounding buffered lidocaine.

The primary outcome measured in this study will be the level of pain reported by the patient upon administration of the local anesthetic and upon insertion of the peripheral intravenous catheter. A secondary outcome includes a pharmacoeconomic analysis that will look specifically at the cost-savings of using one agent over the other and will take into account the daily time allocated to pharmacy technicians and pharmacists for compounding and verifying buffered lidocaine.

02

Conditions studied

  • Pain
  • Local Anesthesia for Peripheral Intravenous Catheterization
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Males or females > 18 y.o.
  • Ability to speak, read, an/or understand English
  • Ability to communicate a level of pain via the specified pain scale
  • A written order exists for an intravenous peripheral catheter insertion for the patient

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Lidocaine allergy
  • Buffered lidocaine allergy
  • Benzyl alcohol allergy
  • Non-English speaking
  • Non-responsive or unable to understand or report pain score (ex. intubated in the ICU)
  • Inability to place catheter
04

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Care provider)
Enrollment
150 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Lidocaine

    1% Lidocaine for injection, 0.50 mL administered one time intradermally in peripheral forearm

    Drug: Lidocaine

  • Experimental
    Buffered Lidocaine

    1% Buffered Lidocaine for injection, 0.50 mL administered one time intradermally in peripheral forearm Buffered lidocaine is compounded by the following process: 2.3 mLs of 8.4% sodium bicarbonate is added to a vial of 1% lidocaine

    Drug: Buffered Lidocaine

  • Experimental
    Bacteriostatic Normal Saline

    Bacteriostatic Normal Saline for injection, 0.50 mL administered one time intradermally in peripheral forearm

    Drug: Bacteriostatic Normal Saline

Interventions

  • DrugLidocaine

    The medication will be administered immediately prior to receiving peripheral IV catheter placement

    Also known as: Hospira brand 1% Lidocaine in 20 mL vial

  • DrugBuffered Lidocaine

    The medication will be administered immediately prior to receiving peripheral IV catheter placement

    Also known as: Hospira brand 1% Lidocaine in 20 mL vial, Hospira brand 8.4% sodium bicarbonate in 50 mL vial

  • DrugBacteriostatic Normal Saline

    The medication will be administered immediately prior to receiving peripheral IV catheter placement

    Also known as: Hospira brand Bacteriostatic Normal Saline in 10 mL vial

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain Score Following Anesthetic Administration

    The primary outcome measured in this study will be the level of pain reported, on a scale of 0 to 10, 0 being no pain at all and 10 being the worst pain ever felt, by the patient upon administration of the local anesthetic and upon insertion of the peripheral intravenous catheter.

    Time frame: Day 1

Secondary outcomes

  1. Economic Analysis of Cost of Compounding Buffered Lidocaine Versus Cost of Purchasing Regular Lidocaine and/or Bacteriostatic Normal Saline

    A secondary outcome includes a pharmacoeconomic analysis that will look specifically at the cost-savings of using one agent over the other and will take into account the daily time allocated to pharmacy technicians and pharmacists for compounding and verifying buffered lidocaine. The outcome data was measured and reported in a single value dollar amount per group, tallied over a 3 month period. The dollar amounts were estimated by adding up the costs of drug purchasing, technician compounding time, and pharmacist verifying time. Buffered lidocaine required both drug purchasing and compounding time, where the lidocaine and bacteriostatic normal saline required drug purchasing alone and labor costs were not taken into account.

    Time frame: 3 months

Other outcomes

  1. Pain Score Following Peripheral Catheter Insertion

    The primary outcome measured in this study will be the level of pain reported, on a scale of 0 to 10, 0 being no pain at all and 10 being the worst pain ever felt, by the patient upon administration of the local anesthetic and upon insertion of the peripheral intravenous catheter.

    Time frame: Baseline and day 1

06

Results

Posted Jul 15, 2022

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneLidocaineBuffered LidocaineBacteriostatic Normal Saline
Started505050
Completed505050
Not completed000

Outcome measures

PrimaryPain Score Following Anesthetic Administration

The primary outcome measured in this study will be the level of pain reported, on a scale of 0 to 10, 0 being no pain at all and 10 being the worst pain ever felt, by the patient upon administration of the local anesthetic and upon insertion of the peripheral intravenous catheter.

Time frame:
Day 1
Reported as:
Mean · units on a scale
Pain Score Following Anesthetic Administration
units on a scaleLidocaineBuffered LidocaineBacteriostatic Normal Saline
Pain Score Following Anesthetic Administration2.81 (0 to 10)1.64 (0 to 10)2.05 (0 to 10)
SecondaryEconomic Analysis of Cost of Compounding Buffered Lidocaine Versus Cost of Purchasing Regular Lidocaine and/or Bacteriostatic Normal Saline

A secondary outcome includes a pharmacoeconomic analysis that will look specifically at the cost-savings of using one agent over the other and will take into account the daily time allocated to pharmacy technicians and pharmacists for compounding and verifying buffered lidocaine. The outcome data was measured and reported in a single value dollar amount per group, tallied over a 3 month period. The dollar amounts were estimated by adding up the costs of drug purchasing, technician compounding time, and pharmacist verifying time. Buffered lidocaine required both drug purchasing and compounding time, where the lidocaine and bacteriostatic normal saline required drug purchasing alone and labor costs were not taken into account.

Time frame:
3 months
Reported as:
Number · Dollars
Economic Analysis of Cost of Compounding Buffered Lidocaine Versus Cost of Purchasing Regular Lidocaine and/or Bacteriostatic Normal Saline
DollarsBuffered Lidocaine CostLidocaine CostBacteriostatic Normal Saline Cost
Economic Analysis of Cost of Compounding Buffered Lidocaine Versus Cost of Purchasing Regular Lidocaine and/or Bacteriostatic Normal Saline1340091004840
Other pre-specifiedPain Score Following Peripheral Catheter Insertion

The primary outcome measured in this study will be the level of pain reported, on a scale of 0 to 10, 0 being no pain at all and 10 being the worst pain ever felt, by the patient upon administration of the local anesthetic and upon insertion of the peripheral intravenous catheter.

Time frame:
Baseline and day 1
Reported as:
Mean · units on a scale
Pain Score Following Peripheral Catheter Insertion
units on a scaleLidocaineBuffered LidocaineBacteriostatic Normal Saline
Average pain score following medication injection2.58 (0 to 10)1.6 (0 to 10)2.10 (0 to 10)
Average pain score following IV inserti1.81 (0 to 10)1.81 (0 to 10)3.05 (0 to 10)

Adverse events

Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Lidocaine0/50 (0%)0/50 (0%)0/50 (0%)
Buffered Lidocaine0/50 (0%)0/50 (0%)0/50 (0%)
Bacteriostatic Normal Saline0/50 (0%)0/50 (0%)0/50 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)LidocaineBuffered LidocaineBacteriostatic Normal SalineTotal
Mean58.3 (20 to 75)56.6 (20 to 75)56 (20 to 75)57.5 (20 to 75)
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)LidocaineBuffered LidocaineBacteriostatic Normal SalineTotal
Female24252978
Male26252172
Baseline pain scores
Baseline pain scores(units on a scale)LidocaineBuffered LidocaineBacteriostatic Normal SalineTotal
Mean0.09 (0 to 10)0.03 (0 to 10)0.15 (0 to 10)0.09 (0 to 10)
07

Study locations

1 site
  • United Hospital, part of Allina Health Services
    Saint Paul, Minnesota 55102, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Beck RM, Zbierajewski FJ, Barber MK, Engoren M, Thomas R. A comparison of the pain perceived during intravenous catheter insertion after injection with various local anesthetics. AANA J. 2011 Aug;79(4 Suppl):S58-61. PubMed 22403968 ↗
  • Brown D. Local anesthesia for vein cannulation: a comparison of two solutions. J Infus Nurs. 2004 Mar-Apr;27(2):85-8. doi: 10.1097/00129804-200403000-00004. PubMed 15085035 ↗
  • Carvalho B, Fuller A, Brummel C, Cohen SE. Local infiltration of epinephrine-containing lidocaine with bicarbonate reduces superficial bleeding and pain during labor epidural catheter insertion: a randomized trial. Int J Obstet Anesth. 2007 Apr;16(2):116-21. doi: 10.1016/j.ijoa.2006.09.006. Epub 2007 Feb 5. PubMed 17276670 ↗
  • Cornelius P, Kendall J, Meek S, Rajan R. Alkalinisation of lignocaine to reduce the pain of digital nerve blockade. J Accid Emerg Med. 1996 Sep;13(5):339-40. doi: 10.1136/emj.13.5.339. PubMed 8894861 ↗
  • Burke SD, Vercler SJ, Bye RO, Desmond PC, Rees YW. Local anesthesia before IV catheterization. Am J Nurs. 2011 Feb;111(2):40-5; quiz 46-7. doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000394291.40330.3c. PubMed 21270583 ↗
  • Fatovich DM, Jacobs IG. A randomized controlled trial of buffered lidocaine for local anesthetic infiltration in children and adults with simple lacerations. J Emerg Med. 1999 Mar-Apr;17(2):223-8. doi: 10.1016/s0736-4679(98)00157-7. PubMed 10195475 ↗
  • Ganter-Ritz V, Speroni KG, Atherton M. A randomized double-blind study comparing intradermal anesthetic tolerability, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of lidocaine, buffered lidocaine, and bacteriostatic normal saline for peripheral intravenous insertion. J Infus Nurs. 2012 Mar-Apr;35(2):93-9. doi: 10.1097/NAN.0b013e31824241cc. PubMed 22382793 ↗
  • McNaughton C, Zhou C, Robert L, Storrow A, Kennedy R. A randomized, crossover comparison of injected buffered lidocaine, lidocaine cream, and no analgesia for peripheral intravenous cannula insertion. Ann Emerg Med. 2009 Aug;54(2):214-20. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2008.12.025. Epub 2009 Feb 13. PubMed 19217695 ↗
  • Nakayama M, Munemura Y, Kanaya N, Tsuchida H, Namiki A. Efficacy of alkalinized lidocaine for reducing pain on intravenous and epidural catheterization. J Anesth. 2001;15(4):201-3. doi: 10.1007/s005400170003. PubMed 14569436 ↗
  • Windle PE, Kwan ML, Warwick H, Sibayan A, Espiritu C, Vergara J. Comparison of bacteriostatic normal saline and lidocaine used as intradermal anesthesia for the placement of intravenous lines. J Perianesth Nurs. 2006 Aug;21(4):251-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jopan.2006.05.007. PubMed 16935736 ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01759459
Lead sponsor
Allina Health System
Responsible party
David Gurda (Principal Investigator/PharmD, Allina Health System) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 3, 2013
Start date
Jan 2013
Primary completion
Jun 2013
Completion
Jun 2013
Results posted
Jul 15, 2022
Last update
Jul 15, 2022

Study contacts

David M Gurda, PharmD
principal investigator · Allina Health Services

Oversight

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

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