Chest nerve block may help heart surgery patients breathe easier
NCT ID NCT05999721
First seen Jul 09, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial investigates whether a superficial parasternal intercostal plane block—a numbing injection near the breastbone—can reduce the decline in lung function that often follows cardiac surgery. One hundred adults scheduled for elective heart surgery will receive either the nerve block plus standard care or standard care alone. Researchers will measure changes in breathing tests and pain levels to see if the block helps preserve lung capacity and reduce opioid use.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- bupivacaine and epinephrine injection
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this nerve block could become a standard way to help patients breathe better and use less pain medication after heart surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial, so results may not apply to all patients. The nerve block itself carries rare risks like infection or bleeding.
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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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
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jan 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: * Patients who are scheduled to undergo elective cardiac surgery via sternotomy (i.e., coronary artery bypass graft, valvular surgery, and combined surgery). * Body Mass Index (BMI) above 20 and below 40 kg m-2 * Age above 18 years. * Eligible to sign informed consent. Exclusion criteria: * Emergency surgery. * Redo surgery. * Off-pump surgeries. * Pregnancy. * Preoperative mechanical circulatory support (i.e., intra-aortic balloon pump, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ventricular assist devices). * Preoperative chronic pain (i.e., fibromyalgia, chronic neuropathic pain). * Contraindication for regional analgesia (i.e., known allergy to LA, skin lesions in the injection site). * Known allergy to one or more of the components of multimodal analgesia (i.e., opioids, paracetamol, tramadol, dipyrone). * Preexisting severe pulmonary disease (i.e., an obstructive lung disease with FEV1 below 49%, restrictive lung disease with FVC below 49%, pulmonary hypertension). Criteria For Discontinuing (Postoperative Exclusion Criteria): * Prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) of more than three hours. * Transfusion of more than three units of blood products. * Severe coagulation disturbance requiring prothrombin complex concentrate or recombinant factor VII. * Left ventricular failure with vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS) at the end of the surgery of ≥ 20. * Right ventricular failure requires inhaled nitric oxide. * Need for mechanical circulatory support (i.e., intra-aortic balloon pump, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). * Patients requiring mechanical ventilation for more than 24 hours postoperatively.
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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
2 sites. 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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Rabin Medical Center
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGPetah Tikva, Israel
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Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital
RECRUITINGPetah Tikva, Israel
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