Testing the feasibility of a wound infusion catheter trial in children

A wound infusion catheter is a flexible tube used to deliver pain relief directly into the surgical site. It is usually inserted by a surgeon at the end of the procedure.

Limited evidence suggests using wound infusion catheters in adults provides good pain relief after abdominal surgery. Wound infusion catheters are also used in children for the same purpose. Similarly to adults, we only have limited evidence to support this approach.

Gathering more evidence on the use of wound infusion catheters in children would involve conducting a clinical trial. The trial would compare wound infusion catheters with an invasive placebo control. An invasive placebo control is an intervention that mimics the active treatment but does not have any therapeutic value.

Conducting this type of trial in children is a complex process and requires additional work to understand whether it would be possible and acceptable to children, carers and nursing staff.

Project aims

We will explore current evidence, expert’s views and patient and public perspectives of an invasive placebo control trial in children:

To do this, we will:

• Review evidence from literature on how wound infusion catheters compare with other methods of pain relief in children
• Conduct a survey to document national practice and explore views about therapeutic merits and the possibility of a trial in this field
• Work with patient, carers and parents to understand their views of this trial, the proposed endpoints and the use of an invasive placebo

What we hope to achieve

We will develop a phase 3 trial with an internal pilot phase and apply for relevant funding.