ISRCTN ISRCTN96095682
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN96095682
Secondary identifying numbers 7664
Submission date
29/04/2010
Registration date
29/04/2010
Last edited
04/01/2016
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Musculoskeletal Diseases
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Not provided at time of registration

Contact information

Miss Vicky Wylde
Scientific

Bristol Implant Research Centre
Southmead Hospital
Southmead Road
Westbury-On-Trym
Bristol
BS10 5NB
United Kingdom

Study information

Study designRandomised interventional treatment trial
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Hospital
Study typeTreatment
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Scientific titleA randomised controlled trial to determine if local wound infiltration reduces chronic pain after lower limb arthroplasty
Study acronymAPEX study
Study objectivesJoint replacement is one of the most common elective surgical procedures performed in the NHS. However, previous research indicates that between 10 - 30% of patients experience chronic pain after hip and knee replacement. Therefore, more research is required to explore methods of minimising chronic pain after joint replacement. The aim of this study is to determine whether an injection of local anaesthethic into the hip or knee during joint replacement surgery, in addition to standard anaesthetic, reduces long-term pain.

To do this, 300 patients listed for knee replacement and 300 patients listed for hip replacement at the Avon Orthopaedic Centre will be recruited into a randomised controlled trial. Participants will complete questionnaires to assess their joint pain and function, psychological status, and use of healthcare resources. Participants will complete questionnaires before their operation, and then at regular intervals after their operation, while they are an in-patient.

Following discharge from hospital, participants will be asked to complete postal questionnaires at 3-months and 6-months after surgery. At 12-months after surgery, participants will be asked to complete a final questionnaire and undergo a joint assessment with a research nurse. Also a small number of participants and health care professionals will be interviewed about their participation in the study, in order to find out how participation in the trial affects them.
Ethics approval(s)Southampton and South West Hampshire REC (B), 27/08/2009, ref: 09/H0504/94
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedTopic: Musculoskeletal; Subtopic: Musculoskeletal (all Subtopics); Disease: Musculoskeletal
InterventionParticipants randomised to the interventional arm of the trial will receive a local wound infiltration, in addition to the standard anaesthetic regimen during surgery. The local anaesthetic mixture will consist of 60 ml of 0.25% bupivicaine with 1 in 200,000 adrenaline.
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureThe WOMAC Pain score at 12-months post-operative.
Secondary outcome measures1. Length of hospital stay
2. Daily 100mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) ratings while an in-patient (starting the day after surgery until discharge or day 5 after surgery)
3. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) Function and Stiffness Scale
4. Intermittent and Constant Osteoarthritis Pain (ICOAP) pain measure
5. Pressure pain thresholds of the volar forearm will be measured using pressure algometry pre-operatively, at discharge from hospital and 12-month and post-operative
6. Resource use: Health service resource use including staff time and other resources used in the intervention, inpatient stays, outpatient visits and general practitioner visits, will be collected using hospital records and participant self-completed questionnaires (including the EQ-5D). These questionnaires will be administered at 3, 6 and 12 months post-operatively and will also be used to measure the time and travel of the patient and the carer if applicable.
Overall study start date25/11/2009
Completion date01/09/2010

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
Lower age limit18 Years
SexBoth
Target number of participantsPlanned Sample Size: 600
Key inclusion criteria1. Patients undergoing primary total hip replacement or primary total knee replacement for osteoarthritis at the Avon Orthopaedic Centre
2. Are willing and able to provide fully informed consent and complete the study questionnaires
3. Male and female, lower age limit of 18 years
Key exclusion criteria1. Patients undergoing revision joint replacement
2. Patients undergoing joint replacement for a diagnosis other than osteoarthritis
3. Patients under the age of 18 years
4. Patients with any medical comorbidity that precludes spinal anaesthetic, regional blocks or the use of strong analgesics postoperatively
5. Diagnosis of severe dementia or psychiatric illness such that they are unable to complete the questionnaires or provide informed consent
6. Patients undergoing stimulatenous bilateral joint replacement
7. Patients who have been in the trial for a previous joint replacement
8. Patients who are unable to understand English will be exclude because not all the validated questionnaires have been translated into languages other than English
Date of first enrolment25/11/2009
Date of final enrolment01/09/2010

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • England
  • United Kingdom

Study participating centre

Southmead Hospital
Bristol
BS10 5NB
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

Southmead Hospital (UK)
Hospital/treatment centre

Southmead Road
Westbury-On-Trym
Bristol
BS10 5NB
England
United Kingdom

Email helen.lewis@nbt.nhs.uk
Website http://www.nbt.nhs.uk/
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/05d576879

Funders

Funder type

Government

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (UK) - Central Commissioning Facility (CCF)

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryNot provided at time of registration
Publication and dissemination planNot provided at time of registration
IPD sharing plan

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Results article results 26/02/2011 Yes No
Results article results 26/06/2015 Yes No
HRA research summary 28/06/2023 No No