New clinical trial aims to optimize pain management and reduce opioid use after mastectomy
MSN highlighted a new University of Cincinnati Cancer Center clinical trial aimed to optimize pain management and reduce the need for opioids after mastectomy procedures.
Alicia Heelan, MD, and Bradley Budde, MD, are leading the trial, funded by a $50,000 pilot grant supported by contributions from Ride Cincinnati through the Cancer Center Pilot Project Award Program.
Patients undergoing a mastectomy often receive a pectoralis nerve block (PECS block), a pain management tool containing either bupivacaine or Exparel (liposomal bupivacaine) — both of which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration to be used for mastectomy pain management.
PECS blocks can either be administered by anesthesiologists before surgery under ultrasound guidance or by the surgeon after the mastectomy while the patient is still asleep. While both drugs and both ways to administer the PECS blocks are standards of care, no study has examined the optimal combination that is best at managing pain for patients.
The trial will enroll approximately 100 patients who will be randomized to either bupivacaine or Exparel, administered either before or during surgery. Patients will also be given non-opioid analgesic medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen before and after surgery to help manage their pain.
“The idea is how can we add different things to this so that we don’t need to use opioids exclusively, which is the way things were 10, 20 years ago in health care,” said Budde, a Cancer Center physician researcher and associate professor in the Department of Anesthesiology in UC’s College of Medicine. “If we can minimize the amount of opioids they use, patients will ultimately do better. I think this is a really cool approach to see if timing matters and if the medication used matters.”
“I do emphasize with patients that these are all standards of care and we’re still going to treat their pain. It doesn’t mean that if they’re enrolled in the study that we’re not going to give them pain medications,” said Heelan, a Cancer Center physician researcher, vice chair for quality and assistant professor in the Department of Surgery in UC’s College of Medicine. “We’re trying to take away some of the pain as much as we can when it’s already a tough process.”
Featured photo at top of pink Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon. Photo/Lludmila Chernetska/iStock.
Stay connected with the Cancer Center
Interested in learning more about the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center? Keep up to date by signing up for communications and newsletters based on your specific interests. Sign up for Cancer Center communications.
Latest Bicentennial News
- Researchers see breakthrough in efficient biofuel productionScience and industry outlets highlight a research partnership between UC and Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed to improve the production of biofuel.
- Allergy season is getting longer because of climate changeAllergy season is starting earlier — and lasting longer — as climate change heats up cities across the U.S. While the spring allergy season usually starts in March, more warm weather earlier in the year means people might begin experiencing symptoms in February, or even January, said Ahmad Sedaghat, MD, PhD, professor and director of the Division of Rhinology, Allergy and Anterior Skull Base Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
