Use of Continuous Wound Infusion of Bupivacaine for Analgesia Following Axillary Clearance Surgery

• Status: Unknown status
• Trial end date: 2011-10-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Axillary clearance forms part of the surgical armamentarium for the treatment of breast cancer. Although the introduction of sentinel lymph node mapping and dissection has allowed for the decreased use of axillary clearance, it remains a frequently performed operation. Axillary clearance is associated with moderate postoperative pain.

We hypothesize that a continuous wound infusion of 0.2% Bupivacaine at 4ml/hr would provide superior analgesia, when compared to standard opioid-based analgesia, in patients undergoing axillary lymph node clearance surgery.

• Phase: Phase 3
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Cork University Hospital
• Treatments: Bupivacaine

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients undergoing axillary clearance surgery

• ASA physical status I - III

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient refusal

• Pre-existing pain conditions

• Regular use of opioid analgesia

• Pregnancy

• Severe cardiac, renal or hepatic disease

• Psychiatric illness precluding ability to give informed consent

• Intercurrent neurological disease

• Contraindications to bupivacaine or morphine use