Randomized Controlled Trial of Efficacy and Safety of Local Anesthetics and Steroids for Chronic Peripheral Post-traumatic Neuropathic Pain
CompletedPhase 3NCT03009500
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Brief summary (from the registry)
The purpose of this study is to evaluate three different injectable solutions used to block ankle nerves to manage ankle pain. The current standard of medical care is to inject a combination of local anesthetics and steroids around injured nerves. There is evidence that injection of local anesthetic (without the steroid) can calm the injured nerve and provide pain relief from a few days up to a few months. Injection of sterile salt water also has the potential to provide pain relief by breaking scar tissue around the nerve thereby relieving compression. Injections of local anesthetic and steroids around injured nerves have been used for many years to provide relief of pain but the specific reason is not well known for this benefit. There are three possibilities: 1) Steroids can reduce inflammation and calm the nerves, 2) local anesthetics can have similar actions but with shorter duration (few days), and 3) injection of any solution can break scarring around an injured/compressed nerve. The study will compare pain relief and possible adverse effects from these three different solutions. This study will help provide definitive answers regarding pain relief and possible adverse effects of the three solutions. This, in turn, will determine the best possible option for injection in patients with nerve-related injury pain.
Study details
- Official title
- A Multi-center Randomized Controlled Trial of Efficacy and Safety of Perineural Local Anesthetics and Steroids for Chronic Peripheral Post-traumatic Neuropathic Pain: The Resperist Study
- Conditions
- Neuralgia
- Peripheral Neuropathic Pain
- Interventions
- Drug: Bupivacaine
- Drug: Depo-Medrol Injectable Product
- Other: Saline (Sodium Chloride) solution
- Drug: Lidocaine
- Sponsor
- University Health Network, Toronto
- Start date
- 2017-01
- Primary completion
- 2018-03
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years to 80 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- Canada
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Pain in foot in neuro-anatomically congruent location following trauma (including surgery) for more than three months 2. Physician-reported DN4 scoring confirming neuropathic pain (score \>3/10) 3. Average intensity of pain more than 3/10 on numerical rating score 4. Failed trial of appropriate doses of first line medications for neuropathic pain (anticonvulsants and/or antidepressants) for six weeks Exclusion Criteria: 1. Age \< 18 or Age \> 80 years 2. Perineural or intra-articular steroid injections in the last 6 months 3. Allergy to local anesthetics or steroids 4. Ongoing litigation issues related to the patient's pain 5. Pregnancy 6. Coagulopathy or systemic infection 7. Peripheral neuropathy or myopathy, central neuropathic pain (e.g. post-stroke pain) 8. Infection in the ankle or foot 9. An unstable medical or psychiatric condition 10. Significant catastrophizing as indicated by pain catastrophizing scale (PCS) score equal to or more than 30/52.
Canadian sites (1)
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03009500