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Does Interneural Local Anesthetic Spread at the Site of Sciatic Nerve Bifurcation Shorten Block Onset Time?

University Health Network, Toronto logo

University Health Network, Toronto

Status

Completed

Conditions

Sciatic Nerve Block
Post Operative Analgesia
Regional Anesthesia

Treatments

Procedure: Interneural
Procedure: Distal

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT01568476
11-0059-A

Details and patient eligibility

About

Following foot and ankle surgery, ultrasound-guided sciatic nerve block (SNB) at the popliteal fossa decreases post-operative pain and opioid consumption. At the popliteal fossa, the sciatic nerve bifurcates to form the Common Peroneal Nerve (CPN) and Tibial Nerve (TN). Studies have shown that when both branches are blocked separately distal to the bifurcation site, block onset time is reduced by 30%. Through clinical observation, the investigators found that onset time is further shortened when ultrasound-guided SNB is performed at the site of bifurcation. This is because the local anesthetic spreads interneurally. The purpose of this study is to compare the block onset time of an ultrasound-guided sciatic nerve block at the site of nerve bifurcation with the blockade of each terminal nerve separately (TN and CPN) distal to sciatic nerve bifurcation.

Enrollment

88 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 85 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

  • ASA physical status I-III
  • 18-85 years of age, inclusive
  • 50-120 kg, inclusive
  • 150 cm of height or greater

Exclusion criteria

  • Contraindications to sciatic nerve block (e.g., allergy to local anesthetics, coagulopathy, malignancy or infection in the popliteal area)
  • Significant peripheral neuropathy or neurological disorder affecting the lower extremity
  • Pregnancy
  • History of alcohol or drug dependency/abuse
  • History of significant psychiatric conditions that may affect patient assessment

Trial design

Primary purpose

Other

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

Double Blind

88 participants in 2 patient groups

Distal
Active Comparator group
Description:
Blockade of both terminal branches of Sciatic nerve separately, distal to bifurcation
Treatment:
Procedure: Distal
Interneural
Active Comparator group
Description:
sciatic nerve blockade at the site of bifurcation
Treatment:
Procedure: Interneural

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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