NCT06740214

Analgesic Efficacy of Different Liposomal Bupivacaine Doses in the Adductor Canal Block for Total Knee Arthroplasty

Recruiting now Phase 3 Last updated 24 November 2025

What this trial tests

Phase 3 trial testing 0.5% standard bupivacaine only in Pain, Postoperative in 177 participants. Currently enrolling.

Timeline

4 September 2025

Primary endpoint
30 June 2027

30 June 2028

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	The University of Hong Kong
Phase	Phase 3
Status	Recruiting now
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	triple
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	177
Start date	4 September 2025
Primary completion	30 June 2027
Estimated completion	30 June 2028
Sites	1 location across Hong Kong

Drugs / interventions tested

• 0.5% standard bupivacaine only — full drug profile →
• 1.33% liposomal bupivacaine with 0.5% standard bupivacaine — full drug profile →
• 1.33% liposomal bupivacaine only — full drug profile →

Conditions studied

• Pain, Postoperative — all drugs for Pain, Postoperative →
• Analgesic Effect — all drugs for Analgesic Effect →
• Total Knee Arthroplasty — all drugs for Total Knee Arthroplasty →
• Liposomal Bupivacaine — all drugs for Liposomal Bupivacaine →

Sponsor

The University of Hong Kong

Who can join

Adults 18 to 80, any sex, with Pain, Postoperative or Analgesic Effect. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Total knee arthroplasty is a commonly performed orthopaedic surgery for the treatment of end-stage osteoarthritis when conservative management becomes ineffective. TKA is associated with significant acute postoperative pain and many patients experience severe postoperative pain despite the use of multimodal analgesia. Poor acute postoperative pain control impacts rehabilitation, prolongs recovery and increases opioid consumption and chronic post-surgical pain.

Liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel, Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc, Parsippany, New Jersey, USA) is a multivesicular formulation of bupivacaine that prolongs drug release and can extend the duration of analgesia. The adductor canal block (ACB) has been shown to reduce pain intensity and opioid consumption after total knee arthroplasty. The use of liposomal bupivacaine in the adductor canal block has recently been FDA-approved. However, the results of its efficacy from existing clinical trials have been mixed. In addition, the doses in the clinical trials have been different, and the optimal dose for perineural application of liposomal bupivacaine is unclear, including for the adductor canal block.

In this project, the investigators propose to conduct a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effect of different doses of liposomal bupivacaine in the adductor canal block on acute postoperative pain intensity and opioid consumption after robotic assisted total knee arthroplasty. The investigators will also assess secondary outcomes including knee functional scores, chronic pain and quality of recovery.

Publications & conference data

No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial.