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DEFINITIONS
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Trial registered on ANZCTR
Registration number
ACTRN12611001282976
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
13/12/2011
Date registered
14/12/2011
Date last updated
4/01/2017
Type of registration
Prospectively registered
Titles & IDs
Public title
SNAP trial: Sonographic Nerve-block for Laparoscopic Appendicectomy in Children
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Scientific title
SNAP trial: In paediatric laparoscopic appendicectomy does sonographically guided rectus sheath nerve block compared to standard port-site local anaesthetic infiltration reduce post-operative pain at the umbilical port site?
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Secondary ID [1]
273602
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Nil
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Universal Trial Number (UTN)
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Trial acronym
SNAP trial
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Linked study record
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Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Appendicitis
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Condition category
Condition code
Surgery
285577
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0
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Other surgery
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Anaesthesiology
285578
285578
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0
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Pain management
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Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
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Description of intervention(s) / exposure
After induction of anaesthesia an ultrasound-guided rectus sheath ‘nerve-block’ will be performed by the surgeon or anaesthetist.
Nerve block technique:
Guided by an axially orientated ultrasound image incorporating the lateral edge of the rectus muscle the needle will be inserted in-plane to the ultrasound beam and its tip advanced under visualisation to the posterior extent of the rectus muscle. A hypo-echogenic lentiform swelling between posterior rectus sheath and rectus muscle on injection of a small amount of solution will help confirm correct needle tip position. Half of the solution will be injected at this point. The process will be repeated on the contralateral side.
Local anaesthetic dose:
The volume of solution available for the nerve block will be calculated according to the patient’s body weight up to a maximum of 20ml, to maintain a maximum dose of bupivacaine at or below 2.5mg/kg.
Volume (ml) = Weight (kg) -10
Half the volume will be used for each side.
In addition to the nerve block, 10ml 0.25% bupivacaine with 1:400,000 adrenaline will be available for the surgeon for local infiltration of all port sites.
The nerve block is performed once intraoperatively and not repeated.
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Intervention code [1]
283888
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Treatment: Drugs
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Comparator / control treatment
"Rectus sheath nerve block' with placebo - normal saline
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Control group
Placebo
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Outcomes
Primary outcome [1]
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The primary endpoint will be the Pain Site Scores for the umbilicus
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Assessment method [1]
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Timepoint [1]
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0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 hours after surgery
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Secondary outcome [1]
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Pain on visual analogue scale
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Assessment method [1]
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Timepoint [1]
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0, 4, 8, 12 ,16, 20 and 24 hours after surgery
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Secondary outcome [2]
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Post-operative opiate consumption in morphine equivalent daily dosage (MEDD)
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Assessment method [2]
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Timepoint [2]
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Up to 24 hours
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Secondary outcome [3]
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Day 10 Post-operative Recovery Questionnaire
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Assessment method [3]
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Timepoint [3]
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10 days post-operatively
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Secondary outcome [4]
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PedsQL Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory version 4.0 Child Report, and Parent Report for Children
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Assessment method [4]
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Timepoint [4]
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6 weeks post-opearatively
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Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
All children presenting to Starship Children’s Hospital, aged between 8 and 14 years, diagnosed with acute appendicitis requiring urgent laparoscopic appendectomy.
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Minimum age
8
Years
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Maximum age
14
Years
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Sex
Both males and females
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Can healthy volunteers participate?
No
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Key exclusion criteria
Diagnosis of developmental delay, neuro-muscular impairment, attention-deficit disorder, chronic pain, or psychiatric illness.
Unable to speak and read English
Partially sighted or blind
Previous open abdominal surgery
Presence of any abdominal prostheses such as a gastrostomy or ventriculo-peritoneal shunt
Immuno-suppression
Allergy to morphine
Consent not obtained from both the participating child and one parent or legal guardian
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Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
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Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
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Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Paediatric surgical registrars or consultants will invite children and their parents / whanau to participate in the trial.
Once recruited and consented, the allocation of each participant to the intervention or control group will be performed by an unblinded circulating theatre nurse just prior to the start of the procedure. This nurse will receive written instructions not to disclose the participant’s group allocation to anybody and will have no involvement in the post-operative care of the patient or in data collection, analysis or reporting.
Randomized study allocations will be placed into 200 totally opaque sequentially numbered envelopes by an independent research assistant who will have no subsequent involvement in this study. The envelopes will be securely sealed and kept in a central location. They will be opened strictly in sequence in the operating room just prior to the start of each procedure.
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Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
The generation of random numbers will be facilitated by an independent research assistant. The allocation sequence will be generated using an open source computer-based on-line random number generator, http://www.random.org. All numbers from 1 to 156 (to give 20% redundancy) will be generated in random sequence arranged in 2 columns. Study allocation will be based on these numbers.
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Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
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Who is / are masked / blinded?
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Intervention assignment
Parallel
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Other design features
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Phase
Not Applicable
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Type of endpoint/s
Efficacy
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Statistical methods / analysis
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Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
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Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
1/03/2012
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Actual
25/06/2012
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Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
18/06/2013
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Actual
18/06/2013
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Date of last data collection
Anticipated
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Actual
1/08/2013
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Sample size
Target
130
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Accrual to date
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Final
130
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Recruitment outside Australia
Country [1]
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New Zealand
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State/province [1]
4017
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Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1]
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Hospital
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Name [1]
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Auckland District Health Board
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Address [1]
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Private Bag 92024
Auckland 1142
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Country [1]
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New Zealand
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Primary sponsor type
Hospital
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Name
Auckland District Health Board
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Address
Private Bag 92024
Auckland 1142
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Country
New Zealand
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Secondary sponsor category [1]
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None
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Name [1]
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Address [1]
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Country [1]
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Other collaborator category [1]
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University
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Name [1]
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University of Auckland Department of Surgery
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Address [1]
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Auckland Clinical School
Level 12
Auckland City Hospital Support Building
Park Road
Grafton
Auckland 1142
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Country [1]
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New Zealand
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Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
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Ethics committee name [1]
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Multi-region Ethics Committee
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Ethics committee address [1]
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C/- Ministry of Health, PO Box 5013, 1 the Terrace, Wellington.
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Ethics committee country [1]
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New Zealand
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Date submitted for ethics approval [1]
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14/12/2011
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Approval date [1]
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30/01/2012
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Ethics approval number [1]
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MEC/12/01/006
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Summary
Brief summary
When performing a laparoscopic appendicectomy the surgeon injects local anaesthetic to numb the sites where “keyhole” ports, used for the surgical instruments, are placed through the abdominal wall. For the first port, placed at the belly button (umbilicus) local anaesthetic is placed under the skin, but much of the pain after the operation may come from the deeper tissue layer at the level of “abs” muscles (rectus abdominis). The rectus sheath nerve block, in which local anaesthetic is injected just behind the rectus muscle to numb the nerves that supply the umbilicus, has been shown to be safe and effective in paediatric umbilical operations. Rectus sheath nerve blocks have not been previously studied in paediatric laparoscopic appendicectomy to our knowledge, although a similar block called the TAP (transversus abdominis plane) has been shown to be effective. The possible advantage of the rectus sheath block is that the anaesthetic is placed closer to the umbilicus, and it is easy to perform. Needle placement during a rectus sheath nerve block is more accurate, and possibly safer, when ultrasound is used to ‘see’ where the needle is going. We propose to investigate how an ultrasound guided rectus sheath nerve block can reduce pain after laparoscopic appendicectomy for acute appendicitis.
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Trial website
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Trial related presentations / publications
Hamill JK, Liley A, Hill AG. Rectus sheath block for laparoscopic appendicectomy: a randomized clinical trial. ANZ journal of surgery. 2015 Dec 1;85(12):951-6.
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Public notes
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Attachments [1]
627
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/AnzctrAttachments/347854-StudyManual.pdf
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Contacts
Principal investigator
Name
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Dr James Hamill
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Address
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Starship Hospital
Private Bag 92024
Auckland 1142
New Zealand
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Country
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New Zealand
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Phone
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+6421753081
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Fax
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Email
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[email protected]
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Contact person for public queries
Name
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James Hamill
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Address
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Paediatric Surgery & Urology Services
Starship Children's Hospital
Private Bag 92024
Auckland 1142
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Country
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New Zealand
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Phone
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+64 21 753081
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Fax
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Email
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[email protected]
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Contact person for scientific queries
Name
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James Hamill
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Address
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Paediatric Surgery & Urology Services
Starship Children's Hospital
Private Bag 92024
Auckland 1142
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Country
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New Zealand
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Phone
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+64 21 753081
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Fax
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Email
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[email protected]
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No information has been provided regarding IPD availability
What supporting documents are/will be available?
No Supporting Document Provided
Results publications and other study-related documents
Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.
Documents added automatically
No additional documents have been identified.
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