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NCT Number: NCT06093477

Studying Melatonin and Recovery in Teens

The goal of this feasibility clinical trial is to learn if melatonin can help teens having major musculoskeletal surgery by promoting healthy sleep. Melatonin is available as a dietary supplement that may be effective in promoting longer, higher quality sleep. This study will assess the feasibility and acceptability of melatonin for teens undergoing major musculoskeletal surgery, as well as determine optimal measured outcomes (sleep, pain, health-related quality of life) at short- and long-term follow-up.

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Key information

Age range

12 year–18 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital

Palo Alto, California, 94304, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Jennifer A Rabbitts, M.D.

CONTACT

[email protected]

650-725-0540

About this study

The investigators will enroll a total of 45 adolescents ages 12-18 years old who are scheduled to undergo major musculoskeletal surgery and one of their caregivers who meet inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants will be asked to:

  • Take melatonin or a placebo before and after surgery. All participants will receive sleep hygiene instructions.
  • Wear a watch-like actigraphy device before and after surgery
  • Complete 1-minute check-in surveys twice each day, for about 5 weeks total before and after surgery
  • Complete 10-20-minute online surveys 3 times over 4 months.

Researchers will compare participants randomized to the placebo arm and melatonin arm to see if the trial design and outcomes are both feasible and acceptable to patients and their families.

The main aims are:

Aim 1. To assess the feasibility and acceptability of melatonin for youth undergoing musculoskeletal surgery Aim 2. To determine optimal primary and secondary outcomes (sleep, pain, health-related quality of life) at short-term (during the initial 21 days) and at final follow-up (3 months after surgery). The investigators will examine completion rates, the extent and pattern of missing data, and gather data to provide effect estimates, variances, and 95% confidence intervals.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

Patients/youth:

  • Age 12-18 years
  • Participants undergoing elective major musculoskeletal surgery for eligible conditions
  • California state resident
  • Regular access to internet and smartphone
  • Can read and understand English or Spanish

Parents/caregivers

  • Biological parent or legal guardian of youth
  • Can read and understand English or Spanish

Exclusion criteria

Patients/youth

  • Prescription medication for premorbid insomnia
  • Cognitive impairment or developmental delay
  • Does not agree to a 1-week washout if taking over the counter supplements or other sleep aids prior to the start of the study medication
  • High risk for sleep related breathing disorder
  • Chronic medical condition that is severe/systemic or requires regular treatment regimen
  • Psychiatric admission in prior 30 days
  • Patients that underwent major surgery in the last 3 months, or those that have not fully recovered from a prior surgery
  • BMI ≥ 99th percentile
  • Enrollment in another therapeutic study
  • Any serious underlying medical or psychiatric condition, that, in the opinion of the investigator, would contraindicate the patient's participation in the study

Treatment and study plan

Fast-Dissolve Melatonin Pill

Dietary Supplement

Participants in this arm will take 3mg of melatonin in fast-dissolve pill form daily during the specified study period.

Fast-Dissolve Placebo Pill

Other

Participants in this arm will take 3mg of placebo in fast-dissolve pill form daily during the specified study period.

Primary outcomes

  1. Treatment Adherence

    Time frame: Treatment phase of 14 days before surgery through 21 days after surgery (T2), and 7 days at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth will self-report daily medication administration on the morning and evening diaries, including the study drug as well as opioid and non-opioid analgesic medications. Medication administration will also be extracted from the EMR during hospitalization. Adherence will be measured as the percentages of doses taken.

  2. Study Acceptability

    Time frame: Assessed one time at Day 21 post-op, and at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth and parent will complete ratings of treatment acceptability using a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (Strong Dislike or Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Like or Strongly Agree). A higher score indicates greater study acceptability.

  3. Enrollment and Retention

    Time frame: Pre-treatment (T1), treatment phase of 14 days before surgery through 21 days after surgery (T2), and 7 days at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Research coordinators will record participant status at each stage including participants approached, assessed for eligibility, invited, consented, randomly assigned, and who received the intended treatment, and completed assessment timepoints, and will collect reasons for declining and dropout. Feasibility metrics will include enrollment rate and attrition rate.

  4. Treatment Side Effects

    Time frame: Assessed one time at Day 21 post-op, and at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth participants will be asked an open-ended question about side effects they may have experienced from the study drug. The rate of side effects of treatment will be self-reported by participants and extracted from EMR during hospitalization.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Sleep Quality

    Time frame: Pre-treatment (T1) and one time at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth will complete the Adolescent Sleep Wake Scale (ASWS), a 10-item measure of sleep quality over the past month rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from "Always" to "Never". The measure assesses five behavioral dimensions of sleep quality: (1) going to bed, (2) falling asleep/latency, (3) maintaining sleep, (4) re-initiating sleep, and (5) returning to wakefulness, and yields a total sleep quality score.

  2. Change in Peri-operative Sleep Quality

    Time frame: Treatment phase of 14 days before surgery through 21 days post-op (T2) and 7 days at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth will complete once daily online diaries assessing daily sleep quality in the morning. Sleep quality will be rated on an 11-point scale ranging from 0 (Extremely poor sleep) to 10 (Extremely good sleep). A higher score indicates higher quality sleep.

  3. Change in Sleep Duration

    Time frame: Treatment phase of 14 days before surgery through 21 days post-op (T2) and 7 days at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth will wear an actigraphy monitor to measure sleep duration. Youth will also report on sleep and wake times on the online morning diary, which will be used to assist with actigraphy scoring. Actigraphic sleep variables will include: minutes of estimated sleep, and sleep efficiency.

  4. Change in Health-related Quality of Life

    Time frame: Pre-treatment (T1) and one time at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth will complete the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), a 15-item measure that assesses self-reported physical, social, and emotional health-related qualify of life over the prior 7 days. The measure yields Physical Health, Psychosocial Health, and Total Health summary scores. The PedsQL is widely used and demonstrates good reliability for both the parent and child self-report measures. Scale scores range from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate fewer difficulties (better) health-related quality of life.

  5. Change in Global Pain Severity

    Time frame: Pre-treatment (T1), one time at Day 21 post-op (T2), and one time at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth will complete the Global Impression of Severity, a single item measure that assesses self-reported patient global impression of pain severity in the preceding 7 days. Response options range from 0 (none) to 3 (severe) with higher scores indicating higher pain severity.

  6. Change in Pain Intensity and Interference

    Time frame: Baseline pre-surgery assessment (T1), treatment phase of 14 days before surgery through 21 days after surgery (T2), and 7 days at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth will complete the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), which assesses worst, least, average, and current pain intensity (4 items) and pain interference on daily functions (7 items) in the prior 7 days, with response options indicated on 11-point NRS. Items are averaged to yield scale scores, ranging from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity or interference.

Other outcomes

  1. Adverse Events

    Time frame: Assessed one time at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth and parents will be asked questions about adverse events.

  2. Concomitant therapy

    Time frame: Assessed one time at 21 days post-op (T2) and one time at 3-month follow-up (T3)

    Youth and parents will be asked open-ended questions about concomitant therapies the patient may have taken (use of sleep aids).

  3. Pediatric Anxiety

    Time frame: Assessed one time on day before surgery (T2)

    Youth will complete the PROMIS Anxiety Short Form 8a, which assesses the pure domain of anxiety in children and adolescents (8 items) in the prior 7 days, with response options indicated on a 5-point scale. Higher scores indicate greater severity of anxiety. Response options range from 1 (Never) to 5 (Almost Always). Raw scores for anxiety and depression are obtained by summing the corresponding items' response values, and range from 8 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher distress.

Study contacts

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

Jennifer A Rabbitts, M.B.Ch.B.

CONTACT

[email protected]

(650) 427-0187

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Stanford University

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Registry information

Official study title

SurgerySMART: Studying Melatonin and Recovery in Teens

Acronym: SurgerySMART

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2028
First posted
Oct 23, 2023
Registry last updated
Mar 18, 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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