When to Block? Timing of Scalp Block in Craniotomy

Launched by SAKARYA UNIVERSITY · Jun 27, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying the best time to give a scalp block—a type of pain relief injected around the head—during brain surgery called a craniotomy. Researchers want to find out if giving this pain relief before surgery or after surgery helps patients recover better. To measure recovery, they will use a questionnaire called the Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40), which asks about how patients feel after surgery, including comfort and pain levels. The study will include 60 adults between 18 and 80 years old who are generally healthy enough for surgery and fully alert after waking up from anesthesia.

If you join the study, you will have a scalp block either before or after your surgery, and the medical team will track your recovery using the questionnaire and check your pain levels and vital signs. To be eligible, you must be having brain surgery under general anesthesia, be alert when waking up, and agree to participate. People who regularly take pain medication, have serious health problems, allergies to the medications used, or difficulty completing the questionnaire will not be able to join. This study is not yet recruiting participants but aims to help doctors understand the best way to manage pain and improve recovery after brain surgery.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Patients aged between 18 and 80 years.
• • Scheduled for craniotomy under general anesthesia.
• • ASA physical status classification I to III.
• • Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 15 at the time of emergence from anesthesia.
• • Provide informed consent to participate in the study.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Chronic use of analgesic medications prior to surgery.
• • Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score below 15 postoperatively.
• • Allergy or hypersensitivity to local anesthetics or opioids used in the study.
• • Contraindications for scalp block or patient-controlled analgesia.
• • Patients with severe hepatic, renal, or cardiac dysfunction.
• • Patients unable to comprehend or complete the QoR-40 questionnaire.