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NCT Number: NCT03645239

Post-operative Emesis and Pain Outcomes After Cesarean Delivery

Approximately 20% women who undergo cesarean delivery would suffer from severe post-operative pain, which may further increase their risks from developing postpartum depression. Predictive factors such as pre-operative pain, age and anxiety could significantly contribute to post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and pain in general surgery, however little information is available with regards to cesarean delivery. The investigators would investigate the risk factors of causing post-operative emesis after cesarean delivery, and to reaffirm that there is a positive correlation between pain on local anesthetic injection, presence of mechanical temporal summation (MTS) and post-Cesarean pain scores.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Conditions

Pain, Postoperative Cesarean Section Nausea Nausea, Postoperative Neurologic Manifestations Pain Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Postoperative Complications Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms, Digestive Vomiting Vomiting, Postoperative

Age range

21 year–50 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Observational

Primary location

KK Women's and Children's Hospital

Singapore, 229899

About this study

Previous studies demonstrated that pain scores upon local anesthetic injection is positively correlated to post-cesarean pain scores. Anxiety, anticipated post-operative pain score and anticipated medication need are also found to be promising risk factors to post-cesarean pain management.

The investigators would investigate the risk factors of causing post-cesarean emesis, and to reaffirm that there is a positive correlation between pain on local anesthetic injection, presence of mechanical temporal summation (MTS) and post-Cesarean pain scores. 470 parturients undergoing cesarean delivery and requiring regional anaesthesia will be recruited. Pain and anxiety assessment will be conducted via visual analogue scoring (VAS), MTS assessment and a series of questionnaires. After delivery, patients will be given appropriate analgesia, and pain score at movement will be recorded. Secondary outcomes include pain scores at rest, analgesia consumption, time-to-first-rescue analgesia, opioid-related side effects, patient satisfaction and postpartum depression. A separate 125 patients will be recruited to evaluate the feasibility and patient acceptability of the use of Headspace, a mindfulness mobile application during the pre- and postnatal period to improve the maternal outcomes (emesis, pain, anxiety, depression).

Who can participate

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Pregnant and going to have caesarean delivery (36 weeks gestation or more; nulliparous and multiparous);
  • Healthy or have mild medical problems that are well-controlled (American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1-2).

Exclusion criteria

  • History of intravenous drug or opioid abuse;
  • Previous history of chronic pain syndrome;
  • Emergency cesarean section;
  • Undergo general anaesthesia during cesarean delivery;
  • Non-English speaking.

Treatment and study plan

Mechanical Temporal Summation assessment

Procedure

A 180 gram von Frey filament is applied on the subject's forearm. Patient will then be asked to rate the pinprick pain score on a verbal rating scale, 0-100. Following this, 10 consecutive touches at random locations are applied with a 1 second interstimulus interval and within a 1 cm diameter circle. The patient will then be asked to rate the 10th pain score (0-100). The Mechanical Temporal Summation Score is obtained by the difference between the 11th pain score and the 1st pain score. If the score is greater than zero, the patient is implied to have presence of Mechanical Temporal Summation.

Other names: MTS

Preoperative pain assessment

Other

Patients will be asked to rate, using a 0-10mm visual analog scale (VAS), their surgical anxiety level ("On a scale of 0-100, with 0 being not anxious at all to 100 being extremely anxious, how anxious are you about your upcoming surgery?"), their anticipated pain (On a scale of 0-10, with 0 being no pain at all and 10 being pain as bad as you can imagine, how much pain do you anticipate experiencing after your upcoming surgery?"), and using a categorical scale, their anticipated pain medication need ("On a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 being none at all, 1 being much less than average, 2 being less than average, 3 being average, 4 being more than average, and 5 being much more than average, how much pain medication do you anticipate needing after your upcoming surgery?").

questionnaires

Other

Questionnaires including Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), EQ-5D-3L, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Central Sensitisation Inventory (CSI), pain survey and breastfeeding questionnaire will be administered to the patient.

Headspace

Other

The mindfulness exercise mobile application, Headspace, will be downloaded into the patients' mobile devices. Patients will be asked to experience a mindfulness exercise for 10-30 minutes before delivery. HADS and pain score will be asked after the intervention.

Primary outcomes

  1. Postsurgical pain scores in both groups: Numeric Rating Scale

    Time frame: 6 -10 weeks after delivery

    Pain scores (Numeric Rating Scale 0-10) at 6-10 weeks follow-up evaluations. Zero being no pain, and 10 being the worst pain possible.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Pain vulnerability in both groups: Pain Catastrophizing Scale

    Time frame: 7 weeks (Upon recruitment until 5-14 days after delivery)

    Assessment will be done via Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) questionnaire before surgery. Pain catastrophizing refers to the negative thought processes patients have when they are exposed to pain or painful experiences. The PCS is a 13-item scale, with each item rated on a 5-point scale: 0 (Not at all) to 4 (all the time). It is broken into three subscales being magnification (0-12), rumination (0-16), and helplessness (0-24). A higher value in each subscale indicates a higher tendency to that subscale (worse outcome).

  2. Mechanical Temporal Summation as measured by von Frey filament in both groups

    Time frame: 1 day (10 minutes)

    Assessment will be done via Mechanical Temporal Summation assessment before surgery. A 180 gram von Frey filament is applied on the subject's forearm. Patient will then be asked to rate the pinprick pain score on a verbal rating scale, 0-100. Following this, 10 consecutive touches at random locations are applied with a 1 second interstimulus interval and within a 1 cm diameter circle. The patient will then be asked to rate the 10th pain score (0-100). The Mechanical Temporal Summation Score is obtained by the difference between the 11th pain score and the 1st pain score. If the score is greater than zero, the patient is implied to have presence of Mechanical Temporal Summation.

  3. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) before and after delivery

    Time frame: 6 -10 weeks after delivery

    Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is a 10-item self reporting scale to evaluate the postnatal depression. Participants are asked to respond according to how they have felt in the past seven days. Each item is measured on a 4-point scale (0-3), with a total score in the range of 0 to 30. A higher total score indicates a greater degree of depressive symptoms. A score of 10 and above indicates clinically significant depressive symptoms.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

KK Women's and Children's Hospital

Other Gov

Registry information

Official study title

Post-operative Emesis and Pain Outcomes After Cesarean Delivery (EPOC)

Acronym: EPOC

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2026
First posted
Aug 24, 2018
Registry last updated
Oct 9, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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