Nerve block showdown: which eases heart surgery pain best?
NCT ID NCT06322810
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study compares two nerve block techniques—ESPB and PIFB—for pain control and breathing recovery in 80 adults having open-heart surgery. Both blocks use the numbing drug ropivacaine. The goal is to see which method reduces opioid use and improves recovery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Ropivacaine (a numbing medicine) given via two different nerve block procedures
- What this could lead to
- If one method works better, it could mean less pain and faster breathing recovery after heart surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage comparison. The results may not apply to all heart surgeries, and individual responses to nerve blocks 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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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 80 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- 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.
Inclusion Criteria: * Adults patients, elective and first-time cardiac surgery patients undergoing traditional sternotomy. Procedures include coronary artery bypass surgery, valve repair or replacement surgery, atrial and ventricular septal defect repair surgery, and other open-heart surgeries. Exclusion Criteria: * 1\. Emergency surgery 2. Anticipated combined major aortic vascular surgery 3. Already admitted to the ICU or on a ventilator before 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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Taichung Veterans General Hospital
RECRUITINGTaichung, Taiwan, 407, Taiwan
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Which nerve block eases chest surgery pain better?
- Which epidural technique best handles a cesarean emergency?
- Can a new opioid dosing strategy ease ICU pain without ventilators?