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Can a Pre-Surgery nerve block stop years of chest pain after heart surgery?

NCT ID NCT07818512

Prevention Sponsor: Bakirkoy Dr. Sadi Konuk Research and Training Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting This study
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 14, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 3 times

Summary

Chronic pain after heart surgery through a breastbone incision affects many patients and can last for years. Researchers are testing whether an ultrasound-guided nerve block, given after anaesthesia but before the first cut, can reduce the chance of chronic pain three months later. The trial will randomly assign 174 adults having elective heart surgery to receive the block plus standard pain relief, or standard pain relief alone. The main measure is whether participants still report chest pain three months after surgery.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
A nerve block using the local anaesthetic bupivacaine, injected around the nerves beside the breastbone before surgery
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer a simple way to reduce long-term chest pain after heart surgery, using a nerve block that is already available.
What could go wrong
The block may not prevent chronic pain, or the benefit may be small. Nerve blocks carry small risks of bleeding, infection, or allergic reaction, and results from one hospital may not apply everywhere.

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

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 174 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Expected to start

Aug 2026

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Aug 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

A government agency

The lead sponsor is a government body.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 75 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age between 18 and 75 years * Scheduled for elective cardiac surgery via median sternotomy * Able to understand and use the Numeric Rating Scale for pain * Willing to participate and able to provide written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Surgery planned by a minimally invasive or thoracoscopic approach * Refusal to participate * Known allergy to the local anaesthetics or analgesics to be used * Chronic opioid use * Coagulopathy * Infection at the planned block site * Pregnancy or lactation * Inability to communicate or to score pain reliably * Psychiatric or neurological condition preventing reliable completion of the BPI-SF and NRS assessments

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

coronary artery disorder Pain, Postoperative

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

CABG Chronic post-sternotomy pain Chronic postoperative pain Sternotomy

How to take part

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  1. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  2. 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.

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