Cheaper pain cocktail may rival exparel in kidney surgery trial
NCT ID NCT07092566
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jul 14, 2026 · Updated 4 times
Summary
This phase 3 trial tests whether a combination of four drugs (R.E.C.K) controls pain after robotic kidney surgery as well as the more expensive drug Exparel. About 170 adults having robotic partial or total kidney removal will be randomly assigned to receive one of the two injections during surgery. Researchers will track pain scores, painkiller use, and hospital stay length to see if the cheaper option is just as effective.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Ropivacaine, epinephrine, clonidine, and ketorolac (R.E.C.K) or liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel)
- What this could lead to
- If R.E.C.K works as well as or better than the more expensive Exparel, it could provide a cheaper, effective option for managing pain after kidney surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a single-center trial with 170 people, so results may not apply to all hospitals or surgeries. Pain is subjective, and individual responses vary.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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About 170 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2025
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Ability to understand and willingness to sign an IRB-approved informed consent 2. Age ≥ 18 years at the time of consent. 3. Planned robotic partial or radical nephrectomy Exclusion Criteria: 1. Determined not to be a candidate to receive R.E.C.K or Exparel per the enrolling investigator 2. Known pregnancy 3. Chronic opioid use within 30 days (as per patient report) prior to randomization (defined as ≥ 30 MME/day) 4. Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements as determined by the investigator. 5. Known allergy to R.E.C.K. and/or Exparel
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Levine Cancer
RECRUITINGCharlotte, North Carolina, 28204, United States
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