Can we predict who will suffer the most from sickle cell pain?
NCT ID NCT06139510
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study aims to find out why some people with sickle cell disease develop severe, disabling chronic pain while others do not. Researchers will enroll 70 participants aged 15 to 40 and use surveys, virtual visits, and in-person pain sensitivity tests to track pain and related outcomes over up to 48 months. The goal is to improve pain management and guide future studies on non-opioid treatments.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help doctors better predict who will develop severe chronic pain from sickle cell disease and guide future non-opioid pain treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, not a treatment trial. It will not directly improve pain for participants, and the findings may not lead to immediate changes in care.
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 70 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
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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15 to 40 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.
All participants must be between 15 and 40 years old and must be able to provide informed, written consent (for adults) or parental consent (for participants younger than 18 years). Inclusion Criteria: 1. Diagnosis of sickle cell disease (documentation of SS, SC, S beta + thalassemia, S beta + thalassemia) is required 2. Participants must have had at least one sickle cell related pain episode that required treatment with opioids at home or in the hospital 12 months prior to recruitment 3. Participants who are on chronic analgesics (NSAID, acetaminophen) or opioids should be on a stable dose for 4 weeks prior to recruitment. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Age less than 15 or greater than 40 years 2. Participants lacking the cognitive or mental capacity to assent to and complete study procedures 3. Pregnant females 4. Participants with history of a stroke with ongoing physical impairment that prevents participation in study procedures. 5. Participants with history of severe vaso-occlusive pain crisis resulting in either evaluation in an emergency department or admission to a hospital two weeks prior to study enrollment. 6. Current or active infection 7. Any condition that the principle investigator considers would preclude or bias participation in the study, such as (1) neuropathy from diabetes or other causes, (2) active avascular necrosis requiring treatment for pain
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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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Duke University Medical Center
RECRUITINGDurham, North Carolina, 27710, United States
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