Recruiting
Phase 1

Genicular Nerve Block

Sponsor:

University of Chicago

Code:

NCT06639503

Conditions

Tibial Plateau Fractures

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Bupivacain

Study Details

Brief summary:

The investigators are conducting this research study to find better ways of treating pain following knee surgery. There is a standard (accepted) approach, which involves injection of numbing medication into the area around the participant surgical incision. The investigators hope to discover if providing numbing medication to a nerve that controls pain in a larger area of the knee (a nerve block), might be better at post-operative pain control.

Conditions

Tibial Plateau Fractures

Study ID

NCT06639503

Start date

Nov 1, 2024

Status verified date

Feb, 2026

Completion date

Oct 14, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Sep 1, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

• Any adult patient (ages 18 and over) undergoing open reduction internal fixation of an acute isolated tibial plateau fracture

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Subjects younger than 18
  • Polytraumatized Subjects
  • Subjects with pathologic fractures
  • Subjects with tibial plateau fractures treated nonoperatively
  • Subjects with tibial plateau fractures treated operatively but with re-operations at the same site
  • Subjects with open fractures
  • Subjects with fracture-dislocations
  • Subjects with active or history of anxiety
  • Subjects with visual analog scale anxiety score ≥ 7 measured preoperatively
  • Subjects with chronic pain syndromes
  • Subjects with chronic opioid use
  • Subjects with illicit drug use disorder
  • Subjects with alcohol abuse disorder
  • Subjects with kidney disease precluding use of ketorolac
  • Subjects with liver disease precluding the use of acetaminophen
  • Subjects with allergy to acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opiates or local anesthesia
  • Subjects with inability to provide a visual analog scale score postoperatively
  • Subjects with contraindications to receiving peripheral nerve blocks, including relevant neurologic deficits, active infection at sites of injections - re-operation at the same site

Study Design

Enrollment

38 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

no intervention: Peri-incisional local anesthesia

subjects randomized to peri-incisional local anesthesia administration will receive an injection of 25 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine across all incisions at the time of wound closure (standard of care)

experimental: Genicular nerve blockade

Subjects randomized to genicular nerve block will receive a fluoroscopic guided injection of 5 ml of 0.25% bupivacaine at the described locations of the superolateral genicular nerve, super medial genicular nerve, inferomedial genicular nerve, recurrent fibular nerve, and infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve under fluoroscopic guidance at the time of wound closure

Interventions

Bupivacain

5mL 0.25% bupivacain

Primary outcome measure

  • Pain Ratings from Visual Analog Scale (VAS) [ Time Frame: one hour, two hours, and discharge from PACU ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Anthony Christiano, MD

773-834-3531anthony.christiano@bsd.uchicago.edu

Locations

University of Chicago

Recruiting

Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60637

Contacts

Anthony Christiano, MD

anthony.christiano@bsd.uchicago.edu

Principal Investigator:

Anthony Christiano, MD

More Information

Sponsor

University of Chicago

Last update posted

Feb 5, 2026

Last verified

Feb, 2026

Keywords

  • peri-incisional local anesthesia
  • genicular nerve block
  • Tibial Plateau Fractures
  • open reduction internal fixation

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Chicago on 2026-02-05.