ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03769428erectspinaeUpdated Dec 24, 2019

Postoperative Analgesia in Breast Cancer Surgery: Safety and Efficiency of Ultrasound Guided Erector Spinae Plane Block

An interventional study of erector spinae plane block and sham erector spinae plane block in Breast Cancer Surgery and Postoperative Analgesia, sponsored by Ben marzouk Sofiene. Completed at 1 site in Tunisia. Open to female participants aged 20 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-12-24.

Sponsored by Ben marzouk Sofiene · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
20 Years to 65 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

Breast cancer surgery is one of the most common surgeries, due to the high incidence of breast cancer. Unfortunately, patients experience significant postoperative acute pain, placing them at risk for increased clinical morbidity and the development of disabling chronic pain which may rich up to 55% . The intensity of perioperative pain experienced by the patient is one of the best predictors of chronic pain.

However, postoperative analgesia in breast cancer surgery is difficult due to the extensive nature of the surgery and the complex innervation of the breast.

Several newly described regional anesthesia techniques exist to control perioperative pain, including the Paravertebral block (PVB) which has been proved to be the most effective one. The anatomic proximity of the pleura and central neuraxial system makes it a particularly challenging technique and carrying a risk of pneumothorax.

The Erector Spinae Plane Block (ESPB) is a novel interfascial plane block described by Forero et al in September 2016. Local anesthetic injection is performed beneath the erector spinae muscle. Local anesthetic (LA) expected to achieve paravertebral spread of three vertebral levels cranially and four levels caudally, blocking the dorsal and ventral rami of the spinal nerves.The easy, fast and safe execution of ESPB makes it a promising technique in the context of surgical pain during breast cancer surgery.

There is no sufficient randomized controlled trials that assess the effectiveness of ESPB in controlling post-operative breast surgery pain.

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the postoperative analgesic effect of Ultrasound-guided ESPB in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery.

Read the detailed description

It is a prospective double blind trial. Sixty female patient aged between 20-65 years old with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-II and scheduled for elective surgery for breast cancer were included in the study. Only unilateral surgical procedures will be included. The patients will be randomized into two groups:

Group B (ESP block): Patients in the experimental arm will receive an ESPB prior to induction of general anesthetic.

Group P: (sham ESP block): Patients allocated to the placebo-control arm will receive a placebo injection of normal saline in almost identical fashion to that of the ESP block.

Intravenous access will be obtained with an 18-gauge intravenous (IV) cannula in the contralateral upper limb of the surgical site and monitors (pulse oximeter, electrocardiography, non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) will be applied.

All blocks will be performed before induction of general anesthesia.

ESPB technique:

The ESPB will be done in the sitting position using linear ultrasound probe (L10) of MySonoU6 machine. The blocks will be performed at the T4-T5 level of the spine using an in-plane approach. A linear probe will be placed 2-3 cm laterally to the spine using a sagittal approach. Three muscles will be identified superficial to the transverse process shadow as follows: trapezius, rhomboid major, and erector spinae. Local anesthetic (LA) is injected between the erector spinae muscle and transverse process. Following confirmation of the correct position of the needle tip with administration of 0.5-1 ml of the fluid a total of 40 mL of fluid will be injected next. The distribution will be observed in both cranial and caudal directions.

  • Group B (ESP block) will receive 150 mg of Ropivacaine : 40cc of Ropivacaine (3.75mg/cc).
  • Group P (Sham ESP block) will receive 40 cc of normal saline.

General Anesthesia:

All patients will receive pre-oxygenation with 100% O2 for 3 min. Anesthesia will be induced by using fentanyl 2μg/kg, Propofol 2-3 mg/kg and Atracurium 0.5 mg/kg. During anesthesia maintenance, monitoring will include Pulse Oximetry, an Electrocardiogram, Non-Invasive Blood Pressure (NIBP), end-tidal Carbon Dioxide, End-Tidal Sevoflurane, and Fraction of Inspired Oxygen.

The reinjection of 0.5μg/kg of fentanyl will be given intraoperatively either when heart rate or Non-Invasive Blood Pressure (NIBP) report an increase by more than 20% of the basal records.

Paracetamol 1 g IV and Ketoprofen 100 mg intramuscular (IM) will be administered for postoperative analgesia at the end of surgery. Anesthesia will be discontinued and tracheal extubation will be done once patient fulfilled the extubation criteria. In the recovery room, all patients will be given a patient-controlled analgesia device (PCA) containing morphine 1 mg/ml-1 ,set to deliver a 1 mg bolus dose of morphine, with an 5 min lockout time and 12mg 1 h limit. Postoperative pain will be assessed using a visual analogue scales (VAS) scores ranging from zero (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain). The VAS scores will be recorded at 1,2,4,8 6, 12, 16, 20 and 24 h postoperatively.If VAS scores are superior to 6 the investigators will resort to rescue analgesia as following: If 6\<VAS\<8: paracetamol 1g IV will be administered and if VAS>8: paracetamol 1g IV associated to ketoprofen100mg IM.

Incidence of nausea and vomiting, and total morphine consumption during the 24-h postoperative period will be recorded.

02

Conditions studied

  • Breast Cancer Surgery
  • Postoperative Analgesia

Keywords

  • opioid consumption
  • erector spinae plane block
  • breast surgery
  • analgesia
  • PCA morphine
  • Locoregional anesthesia
  • breast cancer surgery
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Ben marzouk Sofiene is the lead sponsor of 3 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
20 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
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

  • 25-65 years old
  • Undergoing unilateral breast cancer surgery

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • obesity ( >40 kg/m2)
  • Preoperative chronic dependence upon opioid and NSAID medications
  • History of psychiatric or neurological disease
  • Patients with chronic pain syndromes
  • allergy to local anaesthetics
  • other to peripheral nerve blocks
  • Patients' refusal to participate
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

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.

ASA physical status

The anaesthetists’ scale of health before surgery: I is healthy, II has a mild illness that is under control, III a severe one, IV a severe illness that is a constant threat to life. V and VI are used for the critically ill and for organ donors.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator)
Enrollment
60 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    group B:ESP block

    Patients in the experimental arm will receive an erector spinae plane block prior to induction of general anesthetic :- 150 mg of Ropivacaine : 40cc of Ropivacaine (3.75mg/cc) * An intravenous patient controlled analgesia device will be given to the patients postoperatively

    Procedure: erector spinae plane block

  • Placebo comparator
    group P: Sham ESP block

    Patients allocated to the placebo-control arm will receive a sham erector spinae plane block .they will receive a placebo injection of normal saline in a fashion almost identical to that of the ESP block:- 40 cc of normal saline will be injected -An intravenous patient controlled analgesia device will be given to the patients postoperatively

    Procedure: sham erector spinae plane block

Interventions

  • Procedureerector spinae plane block

    The ESPB will be done in a sitting position using linear ultrasound probe (L10) of MySonoU6 machine. The blocks will be performed at the T4-T5 level of the spine using an in-plane approach. A linear probe will be placed 2-3 cm laterally to the spine using a sagittal approach. Three muscles will be identified superficial to the transverse process shadow as follows: trapezius, rhomboid major, and erector spinae. Local anesthetic (LA) is injected between the erector spinae muscle and transverse process. Following confirmation of the correct position of the needle tip with administration of 0.5-1 ml of the fluid. Then 40cc of Ropivacaine (3.75mg/cc) will be injected .The distribution will be observed in both cranial and caudal directions.

  • Proceduresham erector spinae plane block

    The sham ESPB will be done in a sitting position using linear ultrasound probe (L10) of MySonoU6 machine. The blocks will be performed at the T4-T5 level of the spine using an in-plane approach. A linear probe will be placed 2-3 cm laterally to the spine using a sagittal approach. Three muscles will be identified superficial to the transverse process shadow as follows: trapezius, rhomboid major, and erector spinae. Following confirmation of the correct position of the needle tip with administration of 0.5-1 ml of the fluid a total of 40 mL of fluid will be injected next between the erector spinae muscle and transverse process. Then 40cc of normal saline will be injected.The distribution will be observed in both cranial and caudal directions.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Comparing morphine consumption rates within 24h postoperative

    All patients will be provided with IV morphine PCA and morphine consumption within 24 hour postoperatively will be recorded for both groups.

    Time frame: The first 24 hours postoperative

Secondary outcomes

  1. Assessment of pain in postoperative period via visual analogue scales (VAS) .

    Postoperative pain will be assessed using a VAS ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain).The VAS will be recorded at 1,2,4,8 6, 12 ,16,20 and 24 h postoperatively.

    Time frame: The first 24 hours postoperative

  2. Total morphine demand

    The investigators will compare total morphine demand in both groups during the first 24h after surgery.

    Time frame: During 24 hours postoperative

  3. Time to first request for morphine

    The investigators will compare the timing of the first request for morphine in both groups during the first 24h after surgery.

    Time frame: During 24 hours postoperative

  4. Requirement of rescue analgesia

    The investigators will record and compare the timing of first rescue analgesia and total rescue analgesia requirement. If 6\<VAS\<8: paracetamol 1g iv will be administered If VAS\>8:paracetamol 1g iv associated to ketoprofen100mg IM will be administered.

    Time frame: During 24 hours postoperative

  5. Total intraoperative consumption of Fentanyl.

    The investigators will record the total dose of Fentanyl (µg) required during surgery. Fentanyl will be given intraoperatively either when heart rate or Non-Invasive Blood Pressure (NIBP) report an increase by more than 20% of the basal records.

    Time frame: Intraoperative period

  6. Postoperative nausea and vomiting

    Incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting will be recorded.

    Time frame: within 24 hours postoperative

  7. Morphine related side effects

    The occurence of morphine related side effects such as pruritus,urinary retention,hypotension,respiratory distress and sedation will be recorded.

    Time frame: During 24 hours postoperative

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Tunis maternity and neonatology center,
    Tunis, 1007, Tunisia
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 24, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03769428
Lead sponsor
Ben marzouk Sofiene
Responsible party
Ben marzouk Sofiene (clinical associate professor, University Tunis El Manar) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Dec 7, 2018
Start date
Dec 17, 2018
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2019
Completion
Jun 30, 2019
Last update
Dec 24, 2019

Study contacts

Hayen Maghrebi, PROFESSOR
study chair · UNIVERSITY OF TUNIS EL MANAR

Oversight

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

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