Pain Medicine for Wound Care Procedures

Overview[ - collapse ][ - ]

Purpose This is a randomized double-blind study to determine if the administration of a small-dose of ketamine (an anesthetic)added to morphine (an opioid) contributes to reducing pain intensity during open wound care procedure (WCP)in patients who have had a traumatic injury and are in an Intensive Care Unit. Patients will be randomized to receive morphine plus saline (a placebo) or morphine plus ketamine before the WCP. The second time the patient is scheduled for WCP (no less than 24 hours), patients will be crossed over to receive the treatment they did not receive the first time. It is hypothesized that patients who receive the combination of morphine and ketamine will have better pain control during the procedure than patients who just receive morphine.
ConditionWound Care
Pain Intensity
Hyperalgesia
Nausea
Vomiting
Hallucinations
InterventionDrug: morphine plus saline
Drug: morphine plus ketamine
PhasePhase 3
SponsorUniversity of California, San Francisco
Responsible PartyUniversity of California, San Francisco
ClinicalTrials.gov IdentifierNCT00701909
First ReceivedJune 18, 2008
Last UpdatedJanuary 14, 2014
Last verifiedJanuary 2014

Tracking Information[ + expand ][ + ]

First Received DateJune 18, 2008
Last Updated DateJanuary 14, 2014
Start DateJune 2008
Estimated Primary Completion DateApril 2009
Current Primary Outcome Measurespain intensity [Time Frame: immediately after the wound care procedure] [Designated as safety issue: No]
Current Secondary Outcome Measureshyperalgesia [Time Frame: immediately after the procedure] [Designated as safety issue: No]

Descriptive Information[ + expand ][ + ]

Brief TitlePain Medicine for Wound Care Procedures
Official TitleThe Effectiveness of Small Doses of Ketamine With Morphine on Decreasing Pain Responses During Open Wound Care
Brief Summary
This is a randomized double-blind study to determine if the administration of a small-dose
of ketamine (an anesthetic)added to morphine (an opioid) contributes to reducing pain
intensity during open wound care procedure (WCP)in patients who have had a traumatic injury
and are in an Intensive Care Unit. Patients will be randomized to receive morphine plus
saline (a placebo) or morphine plus ketamine before the WCP. The second time the patient is
scheduled for WCP (no less than 24 hours), patients will be crossed over to receive the
treatment they did not receive the first time. It is hypothesized that patients who receive
the combination of morphine and ketamine will have better pain control during the procedure
than patients who just receive morphine.
Detailed Description
An open wound care procedure causes pain and sometimes the use of medication such as
morphine alone does not adequately help to alleviate pain during this procedure. This study
is being done to learn if the administration of another medication named ketamine by the
vein in addition to morphine is more effective in alleviating pain during the wound
cleansing procedure than the administration of morphine alone. Patients will be eligible for
the study if they are 21 years and older, have an open surgical or traumatic wound with a
duration of no more than 10 days, had a wound pain intensity score more than 3 in a scale of
0 to 10 where 0 is no pain and 10 is the worst pain imaginable during a previous wound care
procedure, and have an intravenous access.

A total of 50 patients with these same characteristics are expected to take part in this
study. Patients who agree to take part in this study will, one day, receive receive an
injection via the vein of morphine 0.05 mg per kilogram of their weight (maximum dose of 4
mg) and another of ketamine 0.25 mg per kilogram of their weight prior receiving the wound
care procedure and, on the other day, will receive an injection via the vein of morphine 0.1
mg per kilogram of their weight (maximum dose of 8 mg) and another of saline prior receiving
the wound care procedure. They will not be able to know if they receive ketamine or saline
the first time or second time.

Ketamine is a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for anesthesia
but not approved to provide analgesia (relieve pain). However, small doses of ketamine are
used (out of its indications) in the clinical area to provide analgesia, and its analgesic
properties have been studied by many researchers.

Before the wound care procedure subjects will be asked to rate their wound pain intensity at
rest at that moment and in the past 24 hours (including "worst" and "average" pain), overall
pain intensity at rest at this moment and "worst" and "average" in the past 24 hours using a
0 to 10 scale where 0 is no pain and 10 is the worst pain imaginable. They will be given a
list of common words that might describe their pain, and a body outline to indicate where
the pain is. In addition, they will be asked to rate their level of sleepiness using a 0 to
10 scale where 0 is not at all sleepy and 10 is extremely sleepy.

After removing the outer dressing, patients will be tested for pain sensitivity around the
wound with a thin, short length of plastic (like a little straw), which will be pressed
against their skin from the outside of the wound towards the wound and they will be asked to
report a distinct change in perception. The first point where a "painful", "sore", or
"sharper" feeling occurs will be marked in the skin to measure the distance of this mark to
the wound. If no change in perception occurs, stimulation will be stopped 0.5 cm from the
wound. This measure is experimental.

Immediately after the wound care procedure the following will be measured: (1) "worst" wound
pain intensity experienced during the wound care procedure, (2) description of pain quality
during the wound care procedure, (3) level of sleepiness, (4) side effects such as
unpleasant sensation will be measured using a 0 to 10 scale, where 0 means no unpleasant
sensation at all and 10 means extremely unpleasant sensation, and finally (5) pain
sensitivity around the wound using a thin, short length of plastic.

The length of time needed to take part in this study will depend on how long the wound care
procedure takes. The time could be approximately 45 minutes to 60 minutes (1 hour) per visit
and 90 minutes (1½ hour) to 120 minutes (2 hours) in total for the study because 2 days are
needed to complete the study.
Study TypeInterventional
Study PhasePhase 3
Study DesignAllocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator), Primary Purpose: Treatment
Condition
  • Wound Care
  • Pain Intensity
  • Hyperalgesia
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Hallucinations
InterventionDrug: morphine plus saline
During the first wound care procedure, some patients will receive morphine 0.1 mg/kg (maximum dose of 8 mg) plus saline (MS), according to randomization, while other patients will receive morphine 0.05 mg/kg (maximum dose of 4 mg) plus ketamine 0.25 mg/kg
Drug: morphine plus ketamine
Patients who received morphine 0.1 mg/kg (maximum dose of 8 mg)plus saline during the first wound care procedure will now receive ketamine 0.25 mg/kg IV plus morphine 0.05 mg/kg
Study Arm (s)
  • Experimental: 1
    During the first wound care procedure, patients will receive either morphine 0.1 mg/kg (maximum dose of 8 mg) plus saline (MS) or morphine 0.05 mg/kg (maximum dose of 4 mg) plus ketamine 0.25 mg/kg (MK) before the WCP according to randomization. During the second wound care procedure, they will receive the drugs and doses that they had not received the first time.
  • Active Comparator: 2
    During the second wound care procedure, patients will receive either morphine 0.1 mg/kg (maximum dose of 8 mg) plus saline (MS) or morphine 0.05 mg/kg (maximum dose of 4 mg) plus ketamine 0.25 mg/kg (MK), whichever drugs and doses that they had not received the first time.

Recruitment Information[ + expand ][ + ]

Recruitment StatusCompleted
Estimated Enrollment12
Estimated Completion DateApril 2009
Estimated Primary Completion DateApril 2009
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:

- Adults patients (≥ 21 years) have to have an open wound with duration of no more than
10 days that requires wound care

- be able to self-report their pain

- had a pain intensity score > 3 during previous wound care procedure

- has intravenous access

Exclusion Criteria:

- Patients with an injury that impairs sensation in the wound area according to a
medical diagnosis

- has an allergy to morphine or ketamine

- has not received morphine previously

- In addition, patients who are 65 years of age or older.
GenderBoth
Ages21 Years
Accepts Healthy VolunteersNo
ContactsNot Provided
Location CountriesPuerto Rico

Administrative Information[ + expand ][ + ]

NCT Number NCT00701909
Other Study ID NumbersH2280-32187-01
Has Data Monitoring CommitteeNo
Information Provided ByUniversity of California, San Francisco
Study SponsorUniversity of California, San Francisco
CollaboratorsNot Provided
Investigators Study Chair: Kathleen A Puntillo, RN, DNSc Regents of the University of California, San Francisco
Verification DateJanuary 2014

Locations[ + expand ][ + ]

Trauma Unit University of Puerto Rico Medical Center
San Juan, Puerto Rico