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Status unknownNCT03375593Updated Mar 1, 2021

Narcotic Versus Non-narcotic Medication for Pain Management After Wrist/Hand Fractures

A Phase 4 interventional study of Hydrocodone 5Mg/Acetaminophen 500Mg Tab and Acetaminophen 500Mg Tab in Distal Radius Fracture, Pain Management and Metacarpal Fracture, sponsored by London Health Sciences Centre OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's. Status unknown at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 90 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-03-01.

Sponsored by London Health Sciences Centre OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

The sponsor has not verified this record recently (last verified Feb 2021), so the status shown — last known as Recruiting — may be out of date.
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
250
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 90 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate two drug options for pain control in patients following wrist injury. Participants will be randomized to one of the 2 pain relief treatments to determine what treatment provides the most effective pain relief

Read the detailed description

The purposes of this noninferiority randomized clinical trial are to determine whether: 1. the most commonly used non-narcotic analgesic (ibuprofen 600 mg + acetaminophen 500 mg) provides pain relief that is not unacceptably worse than the most commonly prescribed narcotic (hydrocodone 5 mg + acetaminophen 500 mg) in patients with a hand or wrist fracture. 2. the following covariates affect pain outcomes: sex/gender, age, gender-related pain expectations, paid/unpaid work roles, comorbid health status, baseline pain intensity, and employment status.

02

Conditions studied

  • Distal Radius Fracture
  • Pain Management
  • Metacarpal Fracture

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Keywords

  • pain management
  • RCT
03

In context

Wrist Fractures

330 studies on the registry are indexed under Wrist Fractures; 73 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 250 is above the median of 62 across 265 interventional studies indexed under Wrist Fractures.

Browse Wrist Fractures studies →

Lead sponsor

London Health Sciences Centre OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's is the lead sponsor of 25 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 90 Years
Sexes eligible
All
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

  • All patients 18 and older undergoing non-operative management of a hand or wrist fracture will be considered eligible.
  • Able to read and speak English

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pain exceeding 7/10 on numeric rating scale or 35/50 on PRWE pain scale at enrollment
  • nerve injury
  • surgeon decision that surgery is required
  • history of chronic opioid use
  • documented or suspected substance abuse
  • individuals currently on daily use of ibuprofen, acetaminophen or other pain-altering medication including medications like Neurontin (gabapentin) and Ultram (tramadol)
  • individuals with documented or suspected chronic pain syndrome, reported allergy or adverse reaction to hydrocodone, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen
  • history or symptoms of serious medical problem in the last year (i.e., arrhythmia, impaired cardiovascular function, gastrointestinal bleeding, liver disease, renal disease)
  • patients with active peptic ulcer disease (history of severe heartburn)
  • symptoms of infection
  • pregnant or lactating women
  • diagnosis of cognitive impairment
  • unable to provide
  • unable or unwilling to fill out the forms
  • prior fracture in same hand
  • on Coumadin or Plavix
  • other medical or psychological health conditions that preclude them from receiving either intervention
  • or unable to return for follow-up visits
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.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Investigator)
Enrollment
250 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Narcotic

    Hydrocodone 5mg/Acetaminophen 500 mg Tab

    Drug: Acetaminophen 500Mg Tab · Drug: Ibuprofen 600 mg tab

  • Experimental
    Non Narcotic

    Ibuprofen 600mg Tab + acetaminophen 500 mg Tab

    Drug: Hydrocodone 5Mg/Acetaminophen 500Mg Tab

Interventions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain

    PRWE (patient rated wrist evaluation) 1. Pain subscale: contains 5 items each of which is further rated from 1-10. The maximum score in this section is 50 and minimum 0 2. Function subscale: contains total 10 items which are further divided into 2 sections i.e specific activities (having 6 items) and usual activities (having 4 items). The maximum score in this section is 50 and minimum 0

    Time frame: 0-2 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Drug use

    Total medication used will be recorded by a pain diary (for the first 2 weeks)

    Time frame: 2 weeks

  2. Pain diary

    participants will be provided a pain diary (for the first 2 weeks) that includes the numeric pain rating scale (NRS), where they can record when they take their medication and the NRS at each self-administration. will use a 0-10 scale where 0 means no pain and 10 is the worst imaginable pain

    Time frame: 2 weeks

  3. Grip strength

    Grip strength in kg will be measured with calibrated instrument and standardized test positioning.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  4. Grip strength

    Grip strength in kg will be measured with calibrated instrument and standardized test positioning.

    Time frame: 24 weeks

  5. Pinch strength

    pinch strength in kg will be measured with calibrated instrument and standardized test positioning.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  6. Pinch strength

    pinch strength in kg will be measured with calibrated instrument and standardized test positioning.

    Time frame: 24 weeks

  7. Dexterity

    dexterity will be tested with a standardized test. dexterity is a timed, in seconds, test. the participant is asked to move small objects from one spot to another.

    Time frame: 12 and 24 weeks

  8. Range of Motion

    active range of motion will be measured in degrees with standardized test positioning.

    Time frame: 12 and 24 weeks

  9. pain management

    Patient satisfaction with pain management will be measured using a single item satisfaction NRS. using a 0-10 scale where 0 is very unsatisfied and 10 is very satisfied

    Time frame: 3 weeks

  10. Work Impact

    Time to return to work will be collected and the Work Limitations Questionnaire will be administered at return to work, 12 and 24 weeks to determine the work impacts of interventions. Scale scores range from 0 (limited none of the time) to 100 (limited all of the time)

    Time frame: 12 and 24 weeks

  11. Future preference

    Preference for future pain management. Patients will be asked if they were to have another fracture, would they prefer to have the same or a different pain medication. They will also be asked what medication they thought they were taking so we can assess how this impacts on their preference, and to discern whether patients were aware of their allocation

    Time frame: 24 weeks

  12. Adverse events

    Adverse events or complications will be recorded using a standardized complications checklist and a standardized adverse event reporting form completed by their surgeon at each time point

    Time frame: 24 weeks

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • St. Joseph Health Care
    London, Ontario N6A 4L6, Canada
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — only de-identified data will be available upon request

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 1, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03375593
Lead sponsor
London Health Sciences Centre OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's
Collaborators
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Dec 18, 2017
Start date
Aug 1, 2019
Primary completion
Oct 1, 2021 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 1, 2022 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 1, 2021

Study contacts

Joy C MacDermid, PhD
Contact
jmacderm@uwo.ca
519-646-6100 ext. 64636
Katrina Munro, CRA
Contact
katrina.munro@sjhc.london.on.ca
519-646-6100 ext. 64640
Joy C MacDermid, PhD
principal investigator · St. Joseph's Health Care London

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is status unknown, as verified in Feb 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Studies of the drugs tested here: Hydrocodone · Acetaminophen · Ibuprofen

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