Continuous Wound Catheter Analgesia Associated With Intravenous Morphine PCA After Thoracotomy
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2018-10-11
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Objective: Epidural analgesia is the gold standard for post-thoracotomy pain relief but is
contraindicated in certain patients. An alternative is continuous wound catheter analgesia.
We will investigate whether ropivacaine, administered through a wound catheter placed by the
surgeon, will reduce postoperative pain. Methods: In a randomized double-blind study, adult
patients with a wound catheter placed by the thoracic surgeon after thoracotomy will be
randomly assigned to receive through this catheter, either a 0.1 mL/kg bolus of 0.75%
ropivacaine, followed by a continuous infusion of 0.2% ropivacaine at 10 mL/h for 48 h, or
saline at the same scheme of administration. Patients will also benefit from
patient-controlled analgesia with intravenous morphine (bolus 1 mg, lockout time 7 min),
paracetamol, and nefopam. The primary endpoint will be total morphine consumption. Secondary
endpoints will be pain intensity on a visual analog scale at rest and on coughing and side
effects during the first 48 postoperative hours. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, and all the
nurses and caring staff involved in this study will be blinded. Solutions of saline and
ropivacaine will be prepared identically by the central pharmacy, without any possible
identification of the product.