ESP Versus PIFB for Analgesia in Open Cardiac Surgery: a Randomized Control Trial

February 22, 2026 updated by: Yi-Ting Chang, Taichung Veterans General Hospital

Comparison of Erector Spiane Plan Block (ESPB) Versus Pecto-intercostal Fascial Block(PIFB) for Analgesia and Respiratory Function Recovery in Cardiac Surgery: a Randomized Control Trial

This clinical trial compares analgesia efficiency and recovery outcomes between two different fascial plane block techniques (ESPB vs.PIFB) in cardiac surgery patients participant population/health conditions].

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does ESPB provide superior analgesia than PIFB
  • Do patients who receive ESPB have better recovery outcomes

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Regional nerve blocks, including Pecto-intercostal block (PIFB) and Erector spinae plane block (ESPB), can provide a certain level of analgesia for thoracic and cardiac surgeries. This study focuses on patients undergoing their first conventional sternotomy for cardiac surgery. They are randomly assigned to receive either PIFB or ESPB for pain relief. Comparisons are made between the two groups for postoperative 48-hour analgesic medication requirements, static and dynamic postoperative pain scores, improvements in postoperative respiratory function, quality of life index (QoL15), and other clinically relevant prognostic indicators.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
80

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Yi-Ting Chang, Dr.
  • Phone Number: 4101 (+886)4-23592525
  • Email: taco@vghtc.gov.tw

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
    • Taiwan
      • Taichung, Taiwan, Taiwan, 407
        • Recruiting
        • Taichung Veterans General Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Yi-Ting Chang, MD
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults patients, elective and first-time cardiac surgery patients undergoing traditional sternotomy. Procedures include coronary artery bypass surgery, valve repair or replacement surgery, atrial and ventricular septal defect repair surgery, and other open-heart surgeries.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1. Emergency surgery 2. Anticipated combined major aortic vascular surgery 3. Already admitted to the ICU or on a ventilator before surgery.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Group E
Patients who receive erector spinae plane block(ESPB) before cardiac surgery
Procedure: Erector spinae plane block (ESPB)
Bilateral ESP: 0.5% ropivacaine 0.3 ml per kg (ideal body weight) each side, 30 min before skin excision. After surgery, use pump to deliver an intermittent automatic bolus of 0.3 ml per kg 0.16% ropivacaine every 4 hours each side.
Active Comparator: Group P
Patients who receive Pecto-intercostal plane block(PIFB) before cardiac surgery
Procedure: Pecto-intercostal fascial plane blok (PIFB)
Bilateral PIFB: 0.5% ropivacaine 0.3 ml per kg (ideal body weight) each side, 30 min before skin excision. After surgery, use pump to deliver an intermittent automatic bolus of 0.3 ml per kg 0.16% ropivacaine every 4 hours each side.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
48hr opioid consumption
Time Frame: Day 2
The primary outcome of this study was the total oral morphine equivalent (OME) dose received within 48 hours after surgery. OME was calculated using a conversion toolkit within our hospital's electronic medical record system, which standardizes opioid analgesic doses to oral morphine equivalents according to established guidelines
Day 2

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperative static pain scores-Day 1
Time Frame: Day 1
Pain score reported by patients when resting
Day 1
Postoperative static pain scores-Day 2
Time Frame: Day 2
Pain score reported by patients when resting
Day 2
Postoperative dynamic pain scores-Day 1
Time Frame: Day 1
Pain score reported by patients when mobilizing or deep coughing
Day 1
Postoperative dynamic pain scores-Day 2
Time Frame: Day 2
Pain score reported by patients when mobilizing or deep coughing
Day 2
postoperative incentive spirometry volume (ml)-Day 1
Time Frame: Day 1
daily volume of incentive spirometry
Day 1
postoperative incentive spirometry volume (ml)-Day 2
Time Frame: Day 2
daily volume of incentive spirometry
Day 2
postoperative incentive spirometry volume (ml)-Day 3
Time Frame: Day 3
daily volume of incentive spirometry
Day 3
QoL15 (POD3)
Time Frame: Day 3
quality of life questionnaire (QoL15) at postoperative day 3
Day 3
Serum cytokine (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10)- aortic declamp
Time Frame: Within 10 min after the aortic declamping
Serum inflammatory cytokines were collected after the aorta was declamped from both the arterial and central venous lines.
Within 10 min after the aortic declamping
Serum cytokine (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10)- 6hrs after aortic decalmped
Time Frame: 6 hours after the aorta was declamped
Serum inflammatory cytokines were collected 6 hours after the aorta was declamped from both the arterial and central venous lines.
6 hours after the aorta was declamped
Serum cytokine (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10)-24 hrs after surgery
Time Frame: 24 hours after the surgery
Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines were collected 24 hours after surgery from both the arterial and central venous lines.
24 hours after the surgery
Serum cytokine (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10) - baseline
Time Frame: During surgery (at the time the induction phase was completed, patients were under general anesthesia, and both arterial line and central venous line were in place)
Baseline serum inflammatory cytokine, collected from the arterial line and the central venous line after induction of general anesthesia
During surgery (at the time the induction phase was completed, patients were under general anesthesia, and both arterial line and central venous line were in place)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Taichung Veterans General Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 8, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 10, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 14, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 21, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
February 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 22, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • ESP vs. PIFB

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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