Recruiting

Transgluteal Block vs. Standard

Sponsor:

UCLA

Code:

NCT07397117

Conditions

Sciatica Acute

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

nerve block with ropivacaine

Standard medical treatment

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare transgluteal sciatic nerve block to standard of care to treat sciatic back pain in adult patients who present to the emergency department.

The main question it aims to answer is: Is a transgluteal sciatic nerve block better than standard of care in improving pain in ER patients with sciatic back pain?

If there is a comparison group: Researchers will compare patients who receive transgluteal sciatic nerve blocks to patients who receive standard of care to see if pain scores improve in ER patients with sciatic back pain.

Participants will be randomized into the transgluteal sciatic nerve block group or the control group (standard of care). Participants will be asked to answer questions about their pain and will be asked to walk a timed short distance.

Conditions

Sciatica Acute

Study ID

NCT07397117

Start date

May 26, 2026

Status verified date

May, 2026

Completion date

Jan 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults aged 18 years and older
  • Presentation to ED with:
  • Acute or acute-on-chronic pain consistent with sciatica, defined as unilateral lumbosacral radicular pain radiating from the lower back or gluteal region to the posterior leg, may extend distal to the knee.
  • Pain score ≥ 5/10 on Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known allergy to study medications (e.g., local anesthetics)
  • Coagulopathy or current anticoagulation therapy
  • Suspected or confirmed spinal infection, or tumor
  • Neurological deficits (bowel or bladder dysfunction, leg weakness)
  • Inability to provide informed consent

Study Design

Enrollment

100 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Transgluteal sciatic nerve block

Patients will receive an ultrasound-guided transgluteal sciatic nerve block with 10-20 mL of 0.2% ropivacaine injected around the affected sciatic nerve at the level of the greater trochanter.

active comparator: Standard of care

Standard ED analgesic management per departmental protocols (oral/IV NSAIDs, acetaminophen, opioids, muscle relaxants).

Interventions

nerve block with ropivacaine

Ultrasound-guided transgluteal sciatic nerve block with 10-20 mL of 0.2% ropivacaine injected around the affected sciatic nerve at the level of the greater trochanter

Standard medical treatment

Standard ED analgesic management per departmental protocols (oral/IV NSAIDs, acetaminophen, opioids, muscle relaxants).

Primary outcome measure

  • Pain scores [ Time Frame: 30 minutes after intervention, time of ED disposition (at decision point of admission to the hospital or discharge which can be up to 6 hours), 24 hours after ED visit, 48 hours after ED visit ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Tianyu Tang, MD

628-247-7578tianyu.tang@ucsf.edu

Felipe Ocampo, MD

felipe.ocampo@ucsf.edu

Locations

University of California, San Francisco

Recruiting

San Francisco, California, United States, 94107

Contacts

Tianyu Tang, MD

628-247-7578tianyu.tang@ucsf.edu

Principal Investigator:

Jeanne Noble, MD

More Information

Sponsor

University of California, San Francisco

Last update posted

Jun 2, 2026

Last verified

May, 2026

Keywords

  • sciatica
  • sciatic back pain
  • lumbar radiculopathy
  • sciatic radiculopathy

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of California, San Francisco on 2026-06-02.