Cough medicine may ease Post-Surgery pain and cut opioid use
NCT ID NCT05278494
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a common cough suppressant, dextromethorphan, can reduce pain and the need for strong opioid painkillers after knee replacement surgery. About 160 adults will receive either dextromethorphan or a placebo before and after their operation. Researchers will measure how much opioid medication participants use and their reported pain levels.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Dextromethorphan (a common cough suppressant)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a safer, non-opioid option for managing pain after knee replacement surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage trial with no phase designation, so results are uncertain. Dextromethorphan may not reduce pain or opioid use better than a placebo.
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 160 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2022
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Main Inclusion Criteria: * Patients Age ≥18 planning to undergo total knee arthroplasty * ASA classes I - III Main Exclusion Criteria: * BMI ≥ 35 * History opioid abuse * History of intractable vomiting after previous surgery
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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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Keck School of Medicine of USC
RECRUITINGLos Angeles, California, 90033, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a pre-surgery paracetamol and tramadol combo beat fentanyl for day-case pain?
- Insulin eye drops put to the test for faster corneal healing
- Can a Longer-Lasting nerve block cut opioid use after spine surgery?
- Could a simple mineral calm the Body's Post-Surgery fire?
- Nanoparticle cleaning may calm pain after failed root canals in diabetic patients
- One pill before surgery may cut opioid use and improve sleep