Does Trans-Cutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) Alleviate The Pain Experienced During Bone Marrow Sampling?

N/ACompletedNCT02005354

University Hospital Plymouth NHS Trust70 enrolled

Overview

The approach of this study will be to answer the question does high-frequency stimulation Trans-Cutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) alleviate the pain experienced during the bone marrow sampling procedure in addition to the standard analgesia given (ie. local anaesthetic with or without inhaled nitrous oxide). Null hypothesis: TENS does not alleviate the pain experienced during the bone marrow sampling procedure in addition to the standard analgesia given

Patients in whom a bone marrow biopsy is planned will be randomised to one of two groups - a control-TENS group where the TENS machine will be set at the lowest sensory threshold and an intervention-TENS group where the TENS machine will be set at a recognised analgesic level (\>50 Hertz (Hz) and below the pain threshold for the patient) (Bennett et al. 2011). The identity of the TENS type will be concealed from both the patient and the doctor performing the biopsy. The primary outcome will be pain and this will be recorded by the patient immediately after the procedure using a validated numerical scale (0-10). All patients will receive standard pain relief (ie. local anaesthetic with or without inhaled nitrous oxide). The benefit of this study is to establish whether or not TENS can benefit patients as an additional, safe, non-invasive and inexpensive method of pain relief during this frequently painful procedure.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Pain

Interventions

Trans-cutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)DEVICE

Patients in whom a bone marrow biopsy is planned will be randomised to one of two groups - a Placebo Comparator group where the TENS machine will be set at the lowest sensory threshold and an Active Comparator group where the TENS machine will be set at a recognised analgesic level (\>50Hz and below the pain threshold for the patient).

Standard pain relief (ie. local anaesthetic with or without inhaled nitrous oxide)DRUG

All patients will receive standard pain relief (ie. local anaesthetic with or without inhaled nitrous oxide)

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study. * Male or Female, aged 18 years or above. * Participants are those medical patients seen in the haematology outpatients clinic for whom a bone-marrow trephine biopsy is deemed necessary either for diagnosis, staging or disease monitoring purposes. Participants are either new patients or routine follow ups. * Participant is able (in the Investigators opinion) and willing to comply with all study requirements. * Participant is willing to allow his or her General Practitioner to be notified of participation in the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Any known adverse reaction to high-frequency TENS or electrode gel pads * Any significant disease or disorder which, in the opinion of the Investigator, may either put the participants at risk because of participation in the study, or may influence the result of the study, or the participant's ability to participate in the study.

Locations (1)

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Perception of Pain Will be Measured Using a Validated Numerical 0-10 Pain Scale Where 0 = no Pain and 10 = Worst Possible Pain

To establish the effect of high-frequency stimulation TENS on the pain experienced by patients undergoing a bone-marrow biopsy, using standard technique with local anaesthetic. The perception of pain will be measured using a pain scale directly after and 24 hours after bone-marrow sampling in patients randomly allocated and blinded to the use of intervention-TENS (IT) or control-TENS (CT) in addition to local anaesthesia.

Time frame: Post procedure and 24 hours

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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