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CompletedNCT03878888Updated Dec 17, 2020

Exparel Use in Bilateral TAP Blocks for Postoperative Pain Control

A Phase 4 interventional study of Exparel 266 MG Per 20 ML Injection in Postoperative Pain, Surgery and Anesthesia, Local, sponsored by St. Luke's Hospital, Pennsylvania. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-12-17.

Sponsored by St. Luke's Hospital, Pennsylvania · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Jul 2019, 7 years 3 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
52
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

To determine if Exparel (Liposomal Bupivacaine, an FDA approved drug) use in ultrasound guided Transversus Abdominis Plane (TAP) blocks may reduce opioid requirement use postoperatively, reduce pain scores postoperatively, reduce incidence of nausea in the postop period, and decrease length of hospital stay

Read the detailed description

Exparel is liposomal form of bupivacaine, a local anesthetic. Secondary to its liposomal nature, Exparel slowly releases bupivacaine into the area injected (ultrasound guided field block) so that it may provide relief from pain for up to 48-72 hours time.

Exparel in TAP blocks may be performed on patients undergoing open or laparoscopic hand assisted abdomen/pelvic procedures, who are NOT candidates for an epidural (anticoagulation medication use, history of spine surgery with metal hardware of the mid-lower back) or as a rescue block for patients who undergo laparoscopic surgery but converted to open abdominal surgery in the operating room.

This block is usually performed intraoperatively (before patient wakes up from anesthesia) or in the immediate postop recovery unit (PACU) area.

Anesthesia personnel who have been well trained to perform ultrasound guided bilateral TAP blocks will combine Exparel 20 cc's with 0.25% Bupivicaine 20 ccs and 20 ccs of normal saline into a 60 cc syringe. With ultrasound machine, they will locate the TAP block on each side of abdomen with a Stimuplex needle. Once the TAP area is found, hydrodissection with normal saline is used to confirm TAP area, and then 30 ccs of the Exparel/0.25% Bupivacaine/normal saline solution administered to each side.

Patients are seen in the PACU area, where pain scores and oral morphine equivalents (OME) are calculated. Patient seen in postoperative day (POD) 1 to discuss expectations of pain control and goals for pain management (i.e. use of multimodal pain regimen and goals to decrease opioid use). A flyer (approved by the Patient Education Committee) is provided to patient on POD 1 for further patient education. Pain scores and OMEs calculated for POD 0-5. Progress notes in patient's chart and patient interview also discloses if patient had episodes of N/V, another data point we will collect. We will finally review patient charts for length of admission (date of admission to date of discharge) Our control group: patients that had open abdominal or hand assisted laparoscopic surgery and who did not receive a TAP block, and received mainly opioids for postop pain control. For the comparison (control) group, we will calculate OME requirements while in PACU, and from POD 1-POD 5. We will see patients during POD 1 to discuss expectations of pain control and goals for pain management. Progress notes in patient's chart and patient interview also discloses if patient had episodes of N/V, another data point we will collect. We will finally review patient's chart for length of admission (date of admission to date of discharge) We are looking for an N=20 for the Exparel TAP block (experimental) group and N=20 for no TAP block (control) group

02

Conditions studied

  • Postoperative Pain
  • Surgery
  • Anesthesia, Local

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Keywords

  • liposomal bupivacaine
  • TAP block
  • pain control
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In context

Pain, Postoperative

5,093 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain, Postoperative; 1,140 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 52 is below the median of 75 across 4,344 interventional studies indexed under Pain, Postoperative.

Browse Pain, Postoperative studies →

Lead sponsor

St. Luke's Hospital, Pennsylvania is the lead sponsor of 17 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Women of Reproductive Potential
  • Men of Reproductive Potential
  • Minorities
  • Healthy Controls/Volunteers
  • Employees/Students
  • Vulnerable populations (trauma victims, students > 18 yrs age, aged infirm, substance abusers, impoverished, terminally ill,)

patients of above inclusion criteria who 1) are not candidates of an neuraxial blockade (i.e. epidural) for postoperative pain control 2) who underwent a laparoscopic to open procedure intraoperatively

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • advanced dementia, not oriented to time or place
  • advanced liver disease
  • pregnant patients
  • allergy to amide local anesthesia
  • allergy to methemoglobinemia
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Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
52 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Exparel use in TAP block

    Exparel used in bilateral TAP block for open abdomen surgery

    Drug: Exparel 266 MG Per 20 ML Injection

  • No intervention
    no TAP block

    these patients, N=20, did not received a bilateral TAP block for postoperative pain control. Instead, pain control involves PO/IV pain medications

Interventions

  • DrugExparel 266 MG Per 20 ML Injection

    patients receive Exparel in bilateral TAP blocks for open abdomen surgery

    Also known as: liposomal bupivacaine

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Reduce opioid requirement use (calculated oral morphine equivalents (OME)) for 2-3 days time after surgery.

    will review opioid/narcotic use in patient's chart

    Time frame: up until postoperative day 5

  2. Reduce pain scores after surgery

    Numerical Rating Scale: 0-10; 0 being no pain, 10 being worst pain imaginable possible

    Time frame: up until postoperative day 5

Secondary outcomes

  1. Reduce incidence of nausea postoperatively

    will review in daily progress notes incidence of nausea

    Time frame: up until Postoperative day 5

  2. Decrease length of hospital stay

    will review patient's admission encounter in chart and see when patient is discharged

    Time frame: up until postoperative day 5

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Study locations

1 site
  • St. Luke's University Hospital Health Network
    Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States
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References and documents

Publications

  • Seagle BL, Miller ES, Strohl AE, Hoekstra A, Shahabi S. Transversus abdominis plane block with liposomal bupivacaine compared to oral opioids alone for acute postoperative pain after laparoscopic hysterectomy for early endometrial cancer: a cost-effectiveness analysis. Gynecol Oncol Res Pract. 2017 Aug 22;4:12. doi: 10.1186/s40661-017-0048-7. eCollection 2017. PubMed 28852531 ↗
  • Fayezizadeh M, Majumder A, Neupane R, Elliott HL, Novitsky YW. Efficacy of transversus abdominis plane block with liposomal bupivacaine during open abdominal wall reconstruction. Am J Surg. 2016 Sep;212(3):399-405. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2015.12.026. Epub 2016 Apr 12. PubMed 27156796 ↗
  • Feierman DE, Kronenfeld M, Gupta PM, Younger N, Logvinskiy E. Liposomal bupivacaine infiltration into the transversus abdominis plane for postsurgical analgesia in open abdominal umbilical hernia repair: results from a cohort of 13 patients. J Pain Res. 2014 Aug 16;7:477-82. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S65151. eCollection 2014. PubMed 25170277 ↗
  • Gorfine SR, Onel E, Patou G, Krivokapic ZV. Bupivacaine extended-release liposome injection for prolonged postsurgical analgesia in patients undergoing hemorrhoidectomy: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Dis Colon Rectum. 2011 Dec;54(12):1552-9. doi: 10.1097/DCR.0b013e318232d4c1. PubMed 22067185 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 17, 2020, 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
NCT03878888
Lead sponsor
St. Luke's Hospital, Pennsylvania
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 18, 2019
Start date
Jan 15, 2019
Primary completion
Jul 1, 2019
Completion
Jul 1, 2019
Last update
Dec 17, 2020

Study contacts

Anna Ng Pellegrino, MD
principal investigator · St. Luke's University Health Network - Anesthesia

Oversight

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

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This study is completed, as verified in Dec 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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