New study aims to cut opioid use after spine surgery with simple nerve block
NCT ID NCT05029726
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a nerve block called an erector spinae plane block can help control pain and reduce the need for opioid painkillers after minimally invasive lumbar spine surgery. About 125 adults having specific types of back surgery will receive either the nerve block or a placebo. The goal is to see if this approach lowers opioid use and improves recovery.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 125 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Feb 2022
- Expected to finish
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Apr 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 to 80 years
- 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: * Age 18-80 * Undergoing one of 3 procedure types: 1) 2 or more levels of MIS decompression (e.g., discectomy, foraminotomy, laminectomy); 2) 1-3 levels of MIS transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) (with or without additional levels of MIS decompression for no greater than 3 total operative levels); 3) 1-3 levels of anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) or MIS lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) accompanied by posterior percutaneous instrumentation at the same levels * Willing and able to give consent Exclusion Criteria: * Opioid tolerant at the time of the surgical procedure--defined as consuming greater than 30mg of morphine milligram equivalents (MME) daily (https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/prescribing/guideline.html) * Presence of an indwelling pain device (e.g., intrathecal opioid pump, spinal cord stimulator, dorsal root ganglion stimulator) * Known allergy to bupivacaine, clonidine or similar local anesthetics * Indication for surgery other than degenerative disease (e.g., neoplasm, infection, trauma) * Chronic kidney disease (stage 3 or greater), or hepatic failure * Active pregnancy * Disease process or mental illness that would preclude accurate evaluation of pain in the perioperative period * Active Worker's Compensation litigation
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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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Rush University Medical Center
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60612, United States
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