NCT07316166

Suprainguinal Fascia Iliaca Block With vs Without Dexmedetomidine

Comparison of Suprainguinal Fascia Iliac Block With and Without Dexmedetomidine as an Adjunct to Ropivacaine for Postoperative Analgesia Following Hip Surgery: a Randomized, Double-blinded Study.

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 120 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Rhode Island Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 80 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The investigators are evaluating postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing hip replacement surgery performed with either spinal or general anesthesia, who also receive a suprainguinal fascia iliaca block using either perineural ropivacaine alone or ropivacaine combined with dexmedetomidine.

Detailed description

Patients undergoing hip replacement surgery often receive a single-shot suprainguinal fascia iliaca block as a part of the primary anesthetic and multimodal postoperative analgesic strategy. However, the analgesic effect of a single-shot block typically diminishes after several hours and may be inconsistent beyond 24 hours. Adding dexmedetomidine, an alpha-2 agonist, to the local anesthetic has been shown to prolong block duration and reduce postoperative opioid requirements. Investigating its use in suprainguinal fascia iliaca blocks for total hip arthroplasty may clarify its clinical effectiveness. The investigators hypothesize that patients receiving ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine will have a significantly longer time to first analgesic request compared to those receiving ropivacaine alone.

Conditions

• Postoperative Pain Management

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Dexmedetomidine	Participants in the experimental arm receive a preoperative suprainguinal fascia iliaca block consisting of 30 mL of 0.25% ropivacaine combined with perineural dexmedetomidine at a dose of 1 mcg/kg.
DRUG	Ropivacaine	In the experimental arm, ropivacaine (30 mL of 0.25%) is administered with dexmedetomidine. In the active comparator arm, ropivacaine (30 mL of 0.25%) is administered alone without any dexmedetomidine medication.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-20
• Primary completion: 2027-06-01
• Completion: 2027-06-01
• First posted: 2026-01-05
• Last updated: 2026-03-25

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated drug study