| E.1 Medical condition or disease under investigation |
| E.1.1 | Medical condition(s) being investigated |
We plan to study women having elective, low-risk, Caesarean sections under spinal anaesthesia. Hypotension is very frequent with spinal anaesthesia in this patient population and it usually requires treatment with intravenous vasopressors. This study will compare the effect, if any, on the spread of spinal anaesthesia, when either of the two most commonly used intravenous vasopressors are given to treat hypotension.
We are not studying a disease. |
|
| MedDRA Classification |
| E.1.3 | Condition being studied is a rare disease | Information not present in EudraCT |
| E.2 Objective of the trial |
| E.2.1 | Main objective of the trial |
This main objective of the study is to test the hypothesis that:
‘Giving intravenous phenylephrine to maintain arterial pressure during spinal anaesthesia for Caesarean section reduces rostral spread of spinal hyperbaric bupivacaine, compared with giving intravenous ephedrine.’
This will be done by comparing block height to cold at 15 minutes post-spinal, when either phenylephrine, or ephedrine has been given as the first line vasopressor. |
|
| E.2.2 | Secondary objectives of the trial |
The secondary objective will be to assess if there is any difference in the quality of spinal anaesthesia when either phenylephrine or ephedrine is given as the first line vasopressor.
This will be done by comparing the incidence of inadequate block, and by comparing the incidence of unnecessarily high block, in the two groups.
|
|
| E.2.3 | Trial contains a sub-study | Information not present in EudraCT |
| E.3 | Principal inclusion criteria |
We will study healthy women with low-risk pregnancies having spinal anaesthesia for elective Caesarean sections.
Inclusion Criteria: - Patients of American Society of Anesthesiologists Category 1-2 scheduled for elective Caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia. - Singleton fetus, at least 36 weeks gestation, with no known abnormality. - Under the care of a specialist Obstetrician at the James Cook University Hospital who consents to his/her patients being included in the trial. - Patients giving informed consent to participate in the trial.
|
|
| E.4 | Principal exclusion criteria |
Exclusion Criteria: - Anaesthetist is unable to perform spinal anaesthesia. - Pregnancy induced hypertension. - Diabetes. - Hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs. - Anticoagulant therapy. - Age < 18 years.
|
|
| E.5 End points |
| E.5.1 | Primary end point(s) |
Patients will be given a standard spinal anaesthetic into the lower back (lumbar spine). Spinal anaesthetic spreads towards the head causing ascending numbess.
The primary end point is a difference in the level of numbness (block height) to cold sensation of at least one spinal segment (dermatome) at 15-minutes post-spinal.
The secondary end points are the incidence of unnecessarily high block and the incidence of block which is not high enough.
We will study a total of 126 patients and then the study will stop. |
|
| E.6 and E.7 Scope of the trial |
| E.6 | Scope of the trial |
| E.6.1 | Diagnosis | No |
| E.6.2 | Prophylaxis | Yes |
| E.6.3 | Therapy | Yes |
| E.6.4 | Safety | No |
| E.6.5 | Efficacy | No |
| E.6.6 | Pharmacokinetic | No |
| E.6.7 | Pharmacodynamic | Yes |
| E.6.8 | Bioequivalence | No |
| E.6.9 | Dose response | No |
| E.6.10 | Pharmacogenetic | Information not present in EudraCT |
| E.6.11 | Pharmacogenomic | No |
| E.6.12 | Pharmacoeconomic | No |
| E.6.13 | Others | No |
| E.7 | Trial type and phase |
| E.7.1 | Human pharmacology (Phase I) | No |
| E.7.1.1 | First administration to humans | No |
| E.7.1.2 | Bioequivalence study | No |
| E.7.1.3 | Other | No |
| E.7.1.3.1 | Other trial type description | |
| E.7.2 | Therapeutic exploratory (Phase II) | No |
| E.7.3 | Therapeutic confirmatory (Phase III) | No |
| E.7.4 | Therapeutic use (Phase IV) | Yes |
| E.8 Design of the trial |
| E.8.1 | Controlled | Yes |
| E.8.1.1 | Randomised | Yes |
| E.8.1.2 | Open | No |
| E.8.1.3 | Single blind | No |
| E.8.1.4 | Double blind | Yes |
| E.8.1.5 | Parallel group | No |
| E.8.1.6 | Cross over | No |
| E.8.1.7 | Other | No |
| E.8.2 | Comparator of controlled trial |
| E.8.2.1 | Other medicinal product(s) | Yes |
| E.8.2.2 | Placebo | No |
| E.8.2.3 | Other | No |
| E.8.3 |
The trial involves single site in the Member State concerned
| Yes |
| E.8.4 | The trial involves multiple sites in the Member State concerned | No |
| E.8.5 | The trial involves multiple Member States | No |
| E.8.6 Trial involving sites outside the EEA |
| E.8.6.1 | Trial being conducted both within and outside the EEA | No |
| E.8.6.2 | Trial being conducted completely outside of the EEA | Information not present in EudraCT |
| E.8.7 | Trial has a data monitoring committee | Information not present in EudraCT |
| E.8.8 |
Definition of the end of the trial and justification where it is not the last
visit of the last subject undergoing the trial
|
For each individual patient the trial will end 90-minutes after spinal anaesthesia has been initiated.
The whole trial will end when 126 patients have been recruited (63 in each group).
This will give us an 80% chance of detecting a one dermatome difference in block height at P = 0.05 (2-sided). This is based on a standard deviation of two for block height (from previous studies). |
|
| E.8.9 Initial estimate of the duration of the trial |
| E.8.9.1 | In the Member State concerned years | 1 |
| E.8.9.1 | In the Member State concerned months | 0 |
| E.8.9.1 | In the Member State concerned days | |