The Efficacy and Safety of Liposomal Bupivacaine in Relieving Postoperative Pain After Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

Summary

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is less invasive compared to traditional thoracotomy. It is reported that the incidence of acute pain following VATS exceeds 80%. Inadequate postoperative analgesia may trigger a series of adverse physiological stress responses, increase the occurrence of postoperative complications, and affect the rehabilitation process.If acute pain is not managed promptly and sufficiently, nearly one-quarter of patients may develop chronic pain, impacting normal life and sleep quality after discharge. Local infiltration anesthesia at the incision site is one of the simplest, safest, and most effective methods for preventing postoperative incision pain. Liposomal bupivacaine(LB) is a novel, long-acting, sustained-release amide-type local anesthetic, providing localized analgesic effects for up to 72 hours. Some researchers have reported the analgesic effects of LB VS traditional local anesthetics infiltration, but the current research results are highly heterogeneous. More prospective studies are needed to evaluate whether LB infiltration is superior to the traditional local anesthetics for the management of postoperative pain. The investigators designed this study to compare the analgesic effect of using LB plus bupivacaine for local infiltration with bupivacaine along for patients after VATS.

Conditions

• Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS)
• Pain Management
• Liposomal Bupivacaine
• Local Injection

Interventions

DRUG

Bupivacaine hydrochloride

The 40 mL 0.25% Bupivacaine hydrochloride (100 mg, normal saline dilution) for the Bupivacaine hydrochloride group.Local infiltration will be performed by the thoracic surgeon before closure. A total of 30-40 mL of fluid will be injected at the incision.The PCA solution is prepared by diluting 100 μg of sufentanil and 16 mg of ondansetron with normal saline to a total volume of 100 mL. Postoperatively, the patient may press the demand button for analgesia. Each activation delivers a 2 mL bolus, with a lockout interval of 10 minutes.If analgesia remains inadequate after four consecutive demands, one Oxycodone and Acetaminophen Tablets (containing 5 mg oxycodone hydrochloride and 325 mg acetaminophen) is administered orally, with a minimum interval of 6 hours between repeated administrations. If pain persists, intravenous morphine 5 mg may be administered at intervals no shorter than 4 hours.

DRUG

Liposomal bupivacaine plus bupivacaine

The 20 mL (266 mg) of liposomal bupivacaine will be mixed with a volume of 20 mL 0.25% Bupivacaine hydrochloride (50 mg, normal saline dilution) for the Liposomal Bupivacaine plus Bupivacaine hydrochloride group.Local infiltration will be performed by the thoracic surgeon before closure.A total of 30-40 mL of fluid will be injected at the incision.The PCA solution is prepared by diluting 100 μg of sufentanil and 16 mg of ondansetron with normal saline to a total volume of 100 mL. Postoperatively, the patient may press the demand button for analgesia. Each activation delivers a 2 mL bolus, with a lockout interval of 10 minutes.If analgesia remains inadequate after four consecutive demands, one Oxycodone and Acetaminophen Tablets (containing 5 mg oxycodone hydrochloride and 325 mg acetaminophen) is administered orally, with a minimum interval of 6 hours between repeated administrations. If pain persists, intravenous morphine 5 mg may be administered at intervals no shorter than 4 hours.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Beijing Tiantan Hospital

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

64 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-03-02

Primary Completion

2027-03-30

Completion

2027-06-30

Countries

• China

Study Locations