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PainPhase 4NCT00484393

Tetracaine Compared to Placebo for Reducing Pain With Palivizumab - A Pilot Study

A Phase 4 study testing tetracaine 4% gel in people with Pain, run by Fraser Health at 1 site in Canada.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This is a small study known as a pilot study. This pilot study is being done to see if a difference in pain from intramuscular palivizumab injection can be detected if tetracaine a topical numbing gel is used compared to no medication (placebo). Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 1 month to 2 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Pain
What is being tested?
tetracaine 4% gel
Type of treatment
Injection or infusion
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
7 participants
Where
1 siteCanada
Study dates
Nov 2007to Apr 2008
Phase
Phase 4
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 1 month to 2 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Infants between 1 month and 2 years of age receiving palivizumab at Surrey Memorial Hospital for 2 consecutive intramuscular injections during the 2007/8 season
  • Parents need to complete informed consent.

Who cannot join

  • Allergy/sensitivity to tetracaine, or ester type anaesthetics.
  • Infants who present with fever or illness that prevent administration of palivizumab.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Canada1 site
  • Surrey Memorial Hospital

    Surrey, British Columbia, V3V1Z2

Other trials in Canada

About this study

Official title: Tetracaine (Ametop®) Compared to Placebo for Reducing Pain Associated With Intramuscular Injection of Palivizumab (Synagis®) - A Pilot Study

This is a small study known as a pilot study. This pilot study is being done to see if a difference in pain from intramuscular palivizumab injection can be detected if tetracaine a topical numbing gel is used compared to no medication (placebo). If a difference is found in this pilot study, then a larger study may be done to confirm that there is a difference in pain experience.

Read the detailed description

Objective:

  1. To determine if tetracaine 4% gel (Ametop ®) reduces the pain of intramuscular palivizumab compared to placebo for pediatric patients between 1 month and 2 years of age.

Rationale:

Premedication with a systemic analgesic has not been shown to be effective in reducing the pain from an acute localized insult. EMLA and tetracaine have been shown to decrease pain associated with immunizations. EMLA requires a 60 minute application, which decreases the usefulness in a busy clinic. Tetracaine has a quicker onset of action and therefore may be more suitable for use in a busy clinic. Efficacy of tetracaine prior to palivizumab has not been reported and therefore it is not known if it can reduce the pain associated with intramuscular palivizumab injection.

Setting:

Respiratory synctial virus (RSV) clinic in the pediatric outpatient ward at Surrey Memorial Hospital.

Procedure:

A notice will be posted in the RSV clinic inviting parents to contact research staff if interested in participating in this study. When a parent contacts staff about the study, a nurse or pharmacist involved in the study will meet with the parent to review eligibility and obtain informed consent.

Once informed consent obtained subject will be randomized by study pharmacist to receive either tetracaine 4% gel (Ametop®) or placebo before administration of the next palivizumab injection (study injection 1); a 4 block randomization design will be used. At the next injection (study injection 2) the subject will receive either tetracaine or placebo, whichever agent they did not receive at study injection 1. The subjects will serve as their own control.

The placebo (Aquatain; Whitehall-Robins, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) is visually and cosmetically similar to tetracaine 4% gel. One gram of drug or placebo will be dispensed in unit dose 5mL oral syringes, heat sealed to prevent evaporation and stored in a refrigerator for up to one week, after which it will be discarded if unused and redispensed. Tetracaine is commercially available in 1.5g tubes that produce approximately 1g tetracaine.

On the day of immunization and on arrival to the clinic, a clinic nurse who is unaware of the treatment assignment will apply 1g of tetracaine or placebo to the subject's thigh and cover it with a dressing (opcit; Smith and Nephew). They will record the time of the application of the study gel. The clinic nurse will remove the dressing and study gel after 30-45 minutes and record the time of removal. The gel will be wiped from the skin with a paper tissue. A 4-point scale (none, mild, moderate, and severe) will be used to assess local skin reactions after removing study gel. Immediately before the injection the site will be cleaned with an alcohol swab, then the dose (15mg/kg using current weight) of palivizumab will be administered using a ½ - 5/8 inch 23-25 gauge needle. A RSV clinic nurse will inject palivizumab within several minutes of gel removal; clinic nurses will not be aware of the treatment assignment for the subjects.

Study injection 1 and 2 will be video recorded. A mirror will be mounted so the video recorder can capture the subject's reaction both face on and from the mirror image. The videotape will continue until the subject calms down following the injection. The subject can be held by a parent during the injection and provide whatever usual comfort measures they would provide. Following the injection the parent will be asked questions to determine their interpretation of the subject's pain response to the injections and if there any factors that may affect the pain response.

Once both study injections are completed the video will be reviewed and pain assessed for both injections by the same scorer using FLACC pain scale. The scorer will be one pediatric registered nurse who is competent in completing pain analysis for infants. The scorer will be blind as to which dose is tetracaine and which is placebo.

Data Collection:

The data collected will include the FLACC pain scale, parent assessment of patient's pain, factors affecting pain response, as well as identify adverse effects from tetracaine and placebo.

Sample size and statistical Analysis:

The number of subjects with informed consent will determine sample size. Statistical analysis will involve descriptive statistics only.

Ethics:

Confidentiality will always be maintained. No information as to the identify of the child will be placed on the data collection forms. Every child will be assigned a number to facilitate identification by the researchers. Informed consent will be obtained.

Personnel:

A team consisting of nurses, a physician, and a clinical pharmacist from SMH will conduct the study. All personnel are currently involved in the day-to-day management of these children and have the required expertise in carrying out this project.

Timeline:

The study will be submitted for ethical approval by the research ethics board, Fraser Health in April 2007. After approval anticipate patient enrolment to start in November 2007 and complete enrolment by March 2008. A further 4 months will be needed to analyze the data and prepare a manuscript. Expected completion date for the project is July 2008.

Budget:

No additional costs are expected for this study.

Conditions
Pain
Being tested
tetracaine 4% gel, Placebo
Medical subject headings
Pain

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • tetracaine 4% gelDrug

    Also called Ametop

    tetracaine applied prior to 1 injection

  • PlaceboDrug

    Also called Aquatain used as placebo to look like tetracaine

    placebo applied prior to 1 injection

Study groups in NCT00484393
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
TetracaineExperimentalTetracaine 4% gel 1g applied to injection site
Receives: Drug: tetracaine 4% gel
PlaceboPlacebo comparatorPlacebo cream (Aquatain) 1g applied to inejction site
Receives: Drug: Placebo

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. To Determine if a Difference in Pain Scale Ratings is Detectable Following Intramuscular Palivizumab Injection That Was Pre-treated With Placebo or Tetracaine.

    Parent score 1-10 (1 representing no pain and 10 representing extreme pain) FLACC (Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability) Score 0-10 (at baseline and post injection) (0 representing no pain and 10 representing extreme pain) Change in FLACC score

    Measured: 2 visits, 1 month apart

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted8 Jun 2007 (estimated)
  2. Study startNov 2007
  3. Primary completionApr 2008
  4. Study completionApr 2008

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Supportive care
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
Triple blind
Who is masked
Participant, Care provider, Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
7 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00484393
Sponsor's protocol ID
2007-041
Status last verified
May 2015
First submitted
6 Jun 2007
Last updated
19 Jun 2015
Data monitoring committee
No

Publications

  • Young KD. Pediatric procedural pain. Ann Emerg Med. 2005 Feb;45(2):160-71. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2004.09.019.

    PubMed 15671974
  • Anand KJ, Hickey PR. Pain and its effects in the human neonate and fetus. N Engl J Med. 1987 Nov 19;317(21):1321-9. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198711193172105. No abstract available.

    PubMed 3317037
  • Weisman SJ, Bernstein B, Schechter NL. Consequences of inadequate analgesia during painful procedures in children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998 Feb;152(2):147-9. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.152.2.147.

    PubMed 9491040
  • Jacobson RM, Swan A, Adegbenro A, Ludington SL, Wollan PC, Poland GA; Vaccine Research Group. Making vaccines more acceptable--methods to prevent and minimize pain and other common adverse events associated with vaccines. Vaccine. 2001 Mar 21;19(17-19):2418-27. doi: 10.1016/s0264-410x(00)00466-7.

    PubMed 11257372
  • Meyerhoff AS, Weniger BG, Jacobs RJ. Economic value to parents of reducing the pain and emotional distress of childhood vaccine injections. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2001 Nov;20(11 Suppl):S57-62. doi: 10.1097/00006454-200111001-00009.

    PubMed 11704725
  • O'Brien L, Taddio A, Ipp M, Goldbach M, Koren G. Topical 4% amethocaine gel reduces the pain of subcutaneous measles-mumps-rubella vaccination. Pediatrics. 2004 Dec;114(6):e720-4. doi: 10.1542/peds.2004-0722.

    PubMed 15574604
  • Halperin BA, Halperin SA, McGrath P, Smith B, Houston T. Use of lidocaine-prilocaine patch to decrease intramuscular injection pain does not adversely affect the antibody response to diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-inactivated poliovirus-Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate and hepatitis B vaccines in infants from birth to six months of age. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2002 May;21(5):399-405. doi: 10.1097/00006454-200205000-00010.

    PubMed 12150176
  • Zempsky WT, Schechter NL. IMpact-RSV Study Group report. Pediatrics. 1999 Oct;104(4 Pt 1):993-4; author reply 995. No abstract available.

    PubMed 10532865
  • Merkel SI, Voepel-Lewis T, Shayevitz JR, Malviya S. The FLACC: a behavioral scale for scoring postoperative pain in young children. Pediatr Nurs. 1997 May-Jun;23(3):293-7.

    PubMed 9220806

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 4 study testing tetracaine 4% gel in people with Pain, run by Fraser Health at 1 site in Canada.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 19 Jun 2015. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 18 Mar 2015). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

To Determine if a Difference in Pain Scale Ratings is Detectable Following Intramuscular Palivizumab Injection That Was Pre-treated With Placebo or Tetracaine. (time frame: 2 visits, 1 month apart). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00484393, which also lists 9 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 19 Jun 2015.

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