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Randomized Controlled Trial of Ultrasound Guided Needle Placement Versus Nerve Stimulation for Coracoid Infraclavicular Brachial Plexus Block

NCT00326261 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL

Last updated 2008-12-18

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Nerve blocks for arm and hand surgery provide many advantages for patients including excellent pain control and reduction in general anesthesia-related adverse effects. Infraclavicular block is possibly the best method for performing regional anesthesia of the arm because of the consistent anesthesia of the whole arm and low incidence of serious adverse effects. Normally the anesthetist uses nerve stimulation to identify nerves supplying the forearm and hand. Recent research has indicated that to improve success from 60% to 79% two types of muscle stimulation must be sought before injection of local anesthetic. This can be time consuming, requires a significant learning process, increases complications and leaves 21% of patients with inadequate anesthesia requiring supplementation or general anesthesia. More recently practitioners have been using ultrasound imaging to direct the needle and watch local anesthetic spread around the nerves. Preliminary reports have documented that this technique is associated with much greater success than the nerve stimulation method. However a good quality study comparing the dual-endpoint infraclavicular technique with an ultrasound-guided technique has not been performed. This randomized study aims to rectify this deficiency by determining if ultrasound-guided infraclavicular block has a significantly greater success than the current standard, dual end-endpoint nerve stimulation technique.

Conditions

  • Patients Undergoing Hand Surgery

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Ultrasound compared to dual-endpoint nerve stimulator guided approach.

PROCEDURE

Ultrasound

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • The Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation

    collaborator OTHER

  • Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

    collaborator OTHER

  • University Health Network, Toronto

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Colin JL McCartney, MBChB FRCA FCARCSI FRCPC · University Health Network, Toronto Western Hospital

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
80 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00326261 on ClinicalTrials.gov