• Catherine Vandepitte, Max Kuroda, Richard Witvrouw, Ludwig Anne, Johan Bellemans, Kristoff Corten, Pascal Vanelderen, Dieter Mesotten, Ine Leunen, Micheline Heylen, Sam Van Boxstael, Monika Golebiewski, Marc Van de Velde, Nebojsa Nick Knezevic, and Admir Hadzic.
• From the *Department of Anesthesiology, Ziekenhuis Öost-Limburg, Genk, Belgium; †North American Institute of Continuing Education (NAICE), New York, NY; ‡Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium; and §Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
• Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2017 May 1; 42 (3): 334-341.

Background And ObjectivesWe examined whether liposome bupivacaine (Exparel) given in the interscalene brachial plexus block lowers pain in the setting of multimodal postoperative pain management for major shoulder surgery.MethodsFifty-two adult patients were randomized to receive either 5 mL of 0.25% bupivacaine HCl immediately followed by 10 mL of liposome bupivacaine 133 mg (n = 26) or 15 mL of 0.25% standard bupivacaine alone (n = 26) in interscalene brachial plexus block. The primary outcome (worst pain in the first postoperative week) was assessed by the Modified Brief Pain Inventory short form. Secondary outcomes were overall satisfaction with analgesia (OBAS), functionality of the surgical arm, sleep duration, time to first opioid (tramadol) request and opioid consumption (mEq), sensory-motor block characteristics, and the occurrence of adverse effects.ResultsWorst pain was lower in patients given liposome bupivacaine added to standard bupivacaine than in patients given standard bupivacaine alone (generalized estimating equation [GEE] estimated marginal mean values, 3.6 ± 0.3 vs 5.3 ± 0.4 points on the Numeric Rating Scale, respectively, although the effect was modest, 1.6 ± 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.8-2.5). Total OBAS scores indicated greater satisfaction (GEE estimated marginal mean values, 1.8 ± 0.3 vs 3.3 ± 0.4 on total OBAS, respectively, with modest effect, difference, 1.4 ± 0.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.5-2.4). There were no differences in any of the other secondary outcomes.ConclusionsLiposome bupivacaine added to standard bupivacaine may lower pain and enhance patient's satisfaction in the first postoperative week even in the setting of multimodal analgesia for major shoulder surgery.This study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02554357) on July 11, 2015, by Principal Investigator Catherine Vandepitte, MD.

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