Tiny tube tested to cut Post-Surgery pain

NCT ID NCT06958848

Symptom relief Sponsor: University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether a smaller 16F chest drain causes less pain than the standard 24F drain after minimally invasive lung surgery. About 124 adults having a lung lobe or segment removed will be randomly assigned to one drain size. Pain levels while coughing will be measured on a 0-100 scale to see if the smaller tube is gentler.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: chest drain (16F or 24F tube)
What this could lead to: If the smaller drain causes less pain, it could become the new standard for recovery after minimally invasive lung surgery.
What could go wrong: This is a small, single-center trial, so results may not apply to all hospitals. The smaller drain might not drain as effectively, which could lead to complications.

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Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

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

About 124 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

May 2025

Expected to finish

Aug 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Informed Consent signed by the patient (all sex and gender) * Patients' age from ≥ 18 to no age limit at time of study inclusion * American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification I to IV * Patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) deemed operable by minimally invasive surgical technique. * Minimally invasive anatomical lung resections under general anaesthesia: lobectomy, lobectomy with wedge resection, lobectomy combined with segmentectomy, segmentectomy with wedge resection, bilobectomy Exclusion Criteria: * Previous thoracic surgery on the same side within 3 months * Lung cancer complicated with pleural empyema * Patients with chronic pain who receive opioids/gabapentin/pregabalin * Patients who consume opiates/benzodiazepines * Congestive heart failure NYHA Class III or IV * Liver cirrhosis Child-Pugh Class B and C * Renal insufficiency requiring dialysis and/or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) \<30 mL/min/1.73 m2 * Patients with coagulopathy or bleeding disorders: von Willebrand disease, Hemophilia; Thrombocytopenia (\<50 G/l), requiring platelet transfusion * Patients with neuralgia * Chest pain (site of surgery) without taking painkillers, measured by VAS while coughing \> 10 mm * Not consolidated rib fractures (in the last 3 months) on the side of surgical procedure * Open anatomical lung resection, including pneumonectomy * Insertion of 2 or more chest tubes * Need for patient controlled intravenous anaesthesia or patient controlled epidural anaesthesia * Patients intubated/sedated (not suitable due to difficulties to fill out the pain survey)

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

non-small cell lung carcinoma Pleural Effusion pneumothorax

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Pleural effusion Pneumothorax

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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

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Tiny tube tested to cut Post-Surgery pain

What the study statuses mean