A new pooled analysis of nine clinical trials showed that surgical patients including women undergoing breast augmentation who received EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) had less pain, required less medication, and experienced fewer opioid-related adverse events than their counterparts who received Bupivacaine HCl as a component of multimodal therapy.
Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc’s EXPAREL is a non-opioid local analgesic indicated for administration into the surgical site for postsurgical analgesia.
According to the study, EXPAREL was associated with a statistically significant:
• Reduction in cumulative pain scores through 72 hours
• Longer time to first opioid rescue
• Decrease in opioid requirements and incidence of opioid-related adverse event
• Significant reduction in opioid use
Thirty-six percent of bupivacaine HCl patients experienced at least one opioid-related adverse events compared to 20% of EXPAREL patients, the study showed.
The analysis pools data from 503 patients who received a single administration of EXPAREL at doses up to 266 mg compared with 409 patients who received bupivacaine HCl at doses up to 200 mg. Surgical models included inguinal hernia repair, total knee arthroplasty, hemorrhoidectomy, bunionectomy, and breast augmentation. The most frequently reported adverse events in both treatment groups were nausea, constipation, and vomiting. The findings are published online in Current Medical Research and Opinion.
