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NCT Number: NCT05521789

Erector Spinae Block for Thoracic Surgery

The aim of this study is to determine if erector spinae injections with bolus infusions with local anesthetic decrease postsurgical pain and opioid consumption in patients undergoing pulmonary resection surgery.

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Key information

Conditions

Pulmonary Neoplasm Lung Diseases Lung Neoplasms Neoplasms Neoplasms by Site Pulmonary Cancer Respiratory Tract Diseases Respiratory Tract Neoplasms Thoracic Cancer Thoracic Diseases Thoracic Neoplasms

Age range

18 year–90 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 4

Primary location

The George Washington University

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, 20037, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Anita Vincent

CONTACT

[email protected]

202-823-4228

Anita Vincent, MD

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Eduard Shaykhinurov

CONTACT

[email protected]

2028234259

About this study

The research hypothesis for the ESB Thoracic study is that erector spinae blocks with boluses of bupivacaine infusions will decrease patients' postsurgical pain, and thereby decrease the amount of narcotic pain medication used. This will be of particular use in patients who have an anticoagulation need and are not able to receive more invasive nerve blocks.To achieve appropriate exposure for pulmonary resection surgery, whether open or video-assisted, patients have surgical incision in the lateral thoracic region, including disruption to the tributaries of the spinal nerves. Due to this dissection, patients frequently experience significant pain post-operatively. Erector spinae blocks with bupivacaine or ropivacaine with bolus infusion therapy have been shown to treat this spinal nerve pain effectively in rib fractures, thoracoscopic surgeries, and breast surgeries. However, there have been no definitive studies evaluating the effectiveness of erector spinae blocks in postoperative pulmonary resection surgery patients.

It is expected that patients with erector spinae blocks (ESB) will have lower pain visual analogue scores (VAS) and lower total opioid consumption. Learning more about the effectiveness of ESB can help in providing adjunct therapy and thereby minimize post-operative opioids, use of which can add further complications in this group of patients through decreased ventilation and increased atelectasis and hypercarbia. As well, current neuraxial local anesthetic therapy involving epidurals and paravertebral blocks require an absence of anticoagulation in the patient; as a fascial plane block, erector spinae blocks can be safely placed in patients on anticoagulation.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • pulmonary resection
  • 18<age<90

Exclusion criteria

  • pleurodesis
  • decortication
  • emergent surgery
  • local anesthetic allergy
  • intraoperative complication (inadvertent hemorrhage or conversion to open surgery)
  • bilateral pulmonary resection

Treatment and study plan

ESB Thoracic

Drug

Erector spinae thoracic block with bupivacaine

Primary outcomes

  1. Outcome Measure - Pain Score and Pain Medications (6 hours)

    Time frame: At 6 hours postoperatively

    Study team members will record the patients' visual analogue pain score pain score on the scale of 0-10 (pain score 0-10 numerical rating) at 6 hours, as well as pain medications given. In addition, all patients will receive a Pain Diary with which to record the pain scores and medications received/taken. If a patient is discharged prior to the 24 hours, the patient will continue to fill out the Pain Diary at home up to the 24 hour mark. A phone call by a member of the study team within 72 hours of leaving the hospital will be initiated to review the Pain Diary for data collection purposes.

  2. Outcome Measure - Pain Score and Pain Medications (12 hours)

    Time frame: At 12 hours postoperatively

    Study team members will record the patients' visual analogue pain score pain score on the scale of 0-10 (pain score 0-10 numerical rating) at 12 hours, as well as pain medications given. In addition, all patients will receive a Pain Diary with which to record the pain scores and medications received/taken. If a patient is discharged prior to the 24 hours, the patient will continue to fill out the Pain Diary at home up to the 24 hour mark. A phone call by a member of the study team within 72 hours of leaving the hospital will be initiated to review the Pain Diary for data collection purposes.

  3. Outcome Measure - Pain Score and Pain Medications (24 hours)

    Time frame: At 24 hours postoperatively

    Study team members will record the patients' visual analogue pain score pain score on the scale of 0-10 (pain score 0-10 numerical rating) at 24 hours, as well as pain medications given. In addition, all patients will receive a Pain Diary with which to record the pain scores and medications received/taken. If a patient is discharged prior to the 24 hours, the patient will continue to fill out the Pain Diary at home up to the 24 hour mark. A phone call by a member of the study team within 72 hours of leaving the hospital will be initiated to review the Pain Diary for data collection purposes.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Eduard Shaykhinurov

CONTACT

[email protected]

2028234259

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

George Washington University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Erector Spinae Blocks for Thoracic Surgery

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2027
First posted
Aug 30, 2022
Registry last updated
Feb 25, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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