A Phase 4 interventional study of Dexmedetomidine and Ropivacaine in Postoperative Pain Management, sponsored by Rhode Island Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-25.
Sponsored by Rhode Island Hospital · Phase 4, Interventional, and Supportive care
The investigators are evaluating postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing hip replacement surgery performed with either spinal or general anesthesia, who also receive a suprainguinal fascia iliaca block using either perineural ropivacaine alone or ropivacaine combined with dexmedetomidine.
Patients undergoing hip replacement surgery often receive a single-shot suprainguinal fascia iliaca block as a part of the primary anesthetic and multimodal postoperative analgesic strategy. However, the analgesic effect of a single-shot block typically diminishes after several hours and may be inconsistent beyond 24 hours. Adding dexmedetomidine, an alpha-2 agonist, to the local anesthetic has been shown to prolong block duration and reduce postoperative opioid requirements. Investigating its use in suprainguinal fascia iliaca blocks for total hip arthroplasty may clarify its clinical effectiveness. The investigators hypothesize that patients receiving ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine will have a significantly longer time to first analgesic request compared to those receiving ropivacaine alone.
Rhode Island Hospital is the lead sponsor of 187 studies on the registry; 37 are open to participants now.
Of its 11 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 2 (18%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
30 ml of 0.25% ropivacaine; No dexmedetomidine
Drug: Ropivacaine
30 ml of 0.25% ropivacaine; 1 mcg/kg of dexmedetomidine
Drug: Dexmedetomidine · Drug: Ropivacaine
Participants in the experimental arm receive a preoperative suprainguinal fascia iliaca block consisting of 30 mL of 0.25% ropivacaine combined with perineural dexmedetomidine at a dose of 1 mcg/kg.
In the experimental arm, ropivacaine (30 mL of 0.25%) is administered with dexmedetomidine. In the active comparator arm, ropivacaine (30 mL of 0.25%) is administered alone without any dexmedetomidine medication.
Time of administration of first analgesic after the surgery
Time frame: Time to first analgesic request, defined as the interval (in minutes) from block administration to the first request for rescue analgesia, assessed for up to 24 hours.
Total opioid consumption (converted to morphine milligram equivalents)
Intraoperative period; PACU; and at 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours following surgery.
Time frame: From the start of surgery through 48 hours postoperatively
Quality of Recovery
The QoR-15 questionnaire has 15 questions that assess patient-reported quality of a patient's postoperative recovery using a 11-point numerical rating scale that leads to a minimum score of 0 (poor recovery) and a maximum score of 150 (excellent recovery).
Time frame: 24 hours
Pain Scores
Patients will be asked to rate their pain score on a 11-point scale (0 = no pain to 10 = excruciating pain).
Time frame: Up to two hours [post anesthesia recovery unit], 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours after surgery
Plan to share: No
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Rhode Island Hospital