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Note: This record shows only 22 elements of the WHO Trial Registration Data Set. To view changes that have been made to the source record, or for additional information about this trial, click on the URL below to go to the source record in the primary register.
Register: EUCTR
Last refreshed on: 30 June 2019
Main ID:  EUCTR2014-003187-20-GB
Date of registration: 17/07/2015
Prospective Registration: No
Primary sponsor: Barts Health NHS Trust
Public title: A multicentre double-blind randomised controlled trial to assess the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of facet- joint injections in selected patients with non-specific low back pain: A feasibility study.
Scientific title: A multicentre double-blind randomised controlled trial to assess the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of facet-joint injections in selected patients with non-specific low back pain: a feasibility study - Facet-joint feasibility study
Date of first enrolment: 21/05/2015
Target sample size: 60
Recruitment status: Not Recruiting
URL:  https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/search?query=eudract_number:2014-003187-20
Study type:  Interventional clinical trial of medicinal product
Study design: 
Controlled: yes
Randomised: yes
Open: no
Single blind: no
Double blind: yes
Parallel group: no
Cross over: no
Other: no
If controlled, specify comparator, Other Medicinial Product: no
Placebo: yes
Other: no
Number of treatment arms in the trial: 2
 
Phase:  Human pharmacology (Phase I): no Therapeutic exploratory (Phase II): no Therapeutic confirmatory - (Phase III): no Therapeutic use (Phase IV): yes
Countries of recruitment
United Kingdom
Contacts
Name: Dr Vivek Mehta   
Address:  St Bartholomew's Hospital EC1A 7BE London United Kingdom
Telephone: 07740950868
Email: vivek.mehta@bartshealth.nhs.uk
Affiliation:  Barts Health NHS Trust
Name: Dr Vivek Mehta   
Address:  St Bartholomew's Hospital EC1A 7BE London United Kingdom
Telephone: 07740950868
Email: vivek.mehta@bartshealth.nhs.uk
Affiliation:  Barts Health NHS Trust
Key inclusion & exclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria:
1. Patients aged 18 to 70 years attending pain clinics identified during routine clinical assessment of non-specific low back pain (clinical indicators for pain of facet-joint origin include tenderness over the facet-joints, referred leg pain above the knees, and worsening pain on extension, flexion and rotation).

2. Low back pain of greater than three months’ duration.

3. Average pain intensity score of 4/10 or more in the seven days preceding recruitment despite NICE-recommended treatment (NICE recommends providing patients with advice and information to promote self-management of their low back pain, and offering one of the following treatments, taking into account patient preference: an exercise programme, a course of manual therapy, or a course of acupuncture).

4. Dominantly paraspinal (not midline) tenderness at two bilateral lumbar levels.

5. At least two components of NICE-recommended best non-invasive care completed, including education and one of a physical exercise programme, acupuncture, and manual therapy (Dworkin et al. 2005).

Are the trial subjects under 18? no
Number of subjects for this age range: 0
F.1.2 Adults (18-64 years) yes
F.1.2.1 Number of subjects for this age range 130
F.1.3 Elderly (>=65 years) yes
F.1.3.1 Number of subjects for this age range 20

Exclusion criteria:
1. Patient refusal.

2. More than four painful lumbar facet-joints.

3. Patient has not completed at least two components of NICE-recommended best non-invasive care (Dworkin et al. 2005)

4. ‘Red flag’ signs (‘red flag’ signs are possible indicators of serious spinal pathology, and include thoracic pain, fever, unexplained weight loss, bladder or bowel dysfunction, progressive neurological deficit, and saddle anaesthesia).

5. Hypersensitivity to study medications or X-ray contrast medium.

6. Radicular pain (radicular pain is defined as pain perceived as arising in a limb or the trunk wall caused by ectopic activation of nociceptive afferent fibres in a spinal nerve or its roots or other neuropathic mechanisms. The pain is lancinating in quality and travels along a narrow band).

7. Dominantly midline tenderness over the lumbar spine.

8. Any other dominant pain.

9. Any major systemic disease or mental health illness that may affect the patient’s pain, disability and/or their ability to exercise and rehabilitate.

10. Any active neoplastic disease, including primary or secondary neoplasm.

11. Pregnant or breastfeeding patients.

12. Previous lumbar facet-joint injections.

13. Previous lumbar spinal surgery.

14. Patients with morbid obesity (body mass index of 35 or greater).

15. Major trauma or infection to the lumbar spine.

16. Participation in another clinical trial in the past thirty days.

17. Patients unable to commit to the six-month study duration.

18. Patients involved in legal actions or employment or benefit tribunals related to their low back pain.

19. Patients with a history of substance abuse.



Age minimum:
Age maximum:
Gender:
Female: yes
Male: yes
Health Condition(s) or Problem(s) studied
Non-specific low back pain of more than three months' duration
Therapeutic area: Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment [E] - Anesthesia and Analgesia [E03]
Intervention(s)

Trade Name: Depo-Medrone 40mg/ml
Product Name: Depo-Medrone 40mg/ml
Pharmaceutical Form: Suspension for injection
INN or Proposed INN: Methylprednisolone Acetate BP 40mg/ml
Concentration unit: mg/ml milligram(s)/millilitre
Concentration type: equal
Concentration number: 40-
Pharmaceutical form of the placebo: Solution for injection
Route of administration of the placebo: Periarticular use

Trade Name: Lidocaine hydrochloride 1%
Product Name: Lidocaine hydrochloride 1%
Pharmaceutical Form: Solution for injection/infusion
INN or Proposed INN: Lidocaine hydrochloride E.P.
Concentration unit: % percent
Concentration type: equal
Concentration number: 1-
Pharmaceutical form of the placebo: Solution for injection
Route of administration of the placebo: Periarticular use

Trade Name: Bupivacaine hydrochloride 0.5%
Product Name: Bupivacaine hydrochloride 0.5%
Pharmaceutical Form: Solution for injection
INN or Proposed INN: Bupivacaine Hydrocloride BP 5.28mg/ml equivalent to bupivacaine hydrocloride anhydrous 5.0mg/ml
Concentration unit: % percent
Concentration type: equal
Concentration number: 0.5-

Primary Outcome(s)

Primary end point(s): Qualitative endpoints

For the feasibility study, the outcome measures include assessing and documenting:

1. Progress, patient numbers and problems at each stage

2. Recruitment and retention of subjects

3. Randomisation

4. Acceptability of trial methods to patients and clinicians

5. Ability to maintain blinding to active procedure and sham injection (assessment of patients and research staff by ‘guess allocation’)

6. Consistency of CPP and acupuncture across the three main centres (their details will be collected as part of the clinical research form)

7. Monitoring and auditing of study conduct.

Quantitative endpoints

1. Feasibility of collecting potential candidate outcome data (number of completed outcomes at baseline and follow-up)

2. Outcome variability (with recruitment and retention figures) to inform sample size calculation for a full trial.

Primary outcome measures for the definitive trial

The primary outcome measure is the change in average pain scores taken at baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months. This will be measured using an 11-point numerical rating scale (NRS).

Main Objective: To assess the feasibility of conducting a definitive study to evaluate the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of facet-joint injections compared to a sham procedure, in patients with non-specific low back pain of more than three months’ duration.

The definitive trial will be deemed feasible if we are successful in standardisation of the method of injection and the test-run of the sham procedure, and if we are able to recruit and retain patients to the proposed trial design.
Timepoint(s) of evaluation of this end point: The study will end when the last patient has completed the last set of questionnaires. The investigators will spend a further 3 months to analyse and report the data generated from the study.

Secondary Objective: 1. To assess the eligibility, recruitment and retention of patients in the two treatment arms (active versus sham procedure).

2. To assess the feasibility and acceptability of the two treatment arms from the point of view of patients and the pain team.

3. To assess the feasibility of the proposed definitive trial design including:
a. Testing of randomisation and blinding procedures.
b. Development of an appropriate active and sham procedure for FJIs.
c. Assessing the consistency of the trial sites to deliver the combined physical and psychological programme.
d. Assessing the feasibility of collecting the proposed outcome data (including pain, functioning, health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression, health care resource utilization, complications, and adverse events).

4. To assess the feasibility of diagnostic criteria to identify facet-joint disease (using clinical tests, and medial branch nerve blocks) to define patient subsets for evaluation in a
Secondary Outcome(s)
Secondary end point(s): As this is a feasibility study, we do not propose to formally inferentially test differences in outcomes or costs between or within the groups. Recruitment and attrition rates will be calculated with 95% confidence intervals. We shall report mean and standard deviations for primary and secondary outcomes for the two groups at baseline and all follow-up visits.
Timepoint(s) of evaluation of this end point: This is not applicable to the study.
Secondary ID(s)
ISRCTN12191542
Source(s) of Monetary Support
Barts Health NHS Trust
Secondary Sponsor(s)
Ethics review
Status: Approved
Approval date:
Contact:
Results
Results available: Yes
Date Posted: 29/03/2019
Date Completed: 31/03/2017
URL: https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2014-003187-20/results
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