Evaluation of Intercostal Neuralgia in Patients With Chest Tube Insertion After Traumatic Rib Fracture

May 13, 2026 updated by: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Prospective Evaluation of Intercostal Neuralgia Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes in Patients With Chest Tube Insertion After Traumatic Rib Fractures

Traumatic rib fractures are common injuries following blunt chest trauma, often requiring chest tube insertion to manage complications such as pneumothorax or haemothorax. However, chest tube placement can lead to intercostal nerve injury, resulting in intercostal neuralgia-a debilitating condition characterized by chronic, neuropathic pain along the intercostal nerves. Despite its clinical significance, the incidence, risk factors, and long-term outcomes of intercostal neuralgia in this patient population remain poorly understood.

Chronic pain following thoracic trauma, including intercostal neuralgia, has been shown to significantly impair quality of life and functional outcomes, leading to prolonged disability and increased healthcare utilization. Current literature highlights the need for better understanding and management of this condition, particularly in patients undergoing invasive procedures such as chest tube insertion. This study aims to prospectively evaluate the development of intercostal neuralgia in patients with chest tube insertion following traumatic rib fractures.

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

Intercostal neuralgia is defined as pain along the intercostal nerve distribution with neuropathic features. Chronic intercostal neuralgia is defined as having intercostal neuralgia symptoms for >3 months.

Intercostal neuralgia pain will be specifically differentiated from persistent rib fracture pain through the presence of neuropathic pain at the level of the chest tube/pigtail that is reproducible with brushing/light touch to the chest tube scar site.

The following data will be collected:

Baseline:

  • Demographic information (age, sex, ethnicity, comorbidities).
  • Pain assessment using numerical rating scale at rest and with deep inspiration
  • Pre-existing chronic pain conditions (e.g., fibromyalgia, chronic regional pain syndrome) and history of prior thoracic surgery or chest tube insertion.
  • Injury characteristics (mechanism of injury including presence of foreign bodies and additional penetrating injuries, number and location of rib fractures, associated injuries including vertebral body fractures, sternal fracture, transverse process fracture).
  • Neurologic assessment (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] on presentation and at time of recruitment)
  • Brain imaging findings on presentation (if applicable)
  • Chest tube / pigtail details (size, insertion site, duration of placement).
  • Spirometry testing including forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume (FEV1) at time of enrolment of study

Additional information to be collected following hospital stay:

  • Analgesic use including dose of opioids, use of regional anesthesia techniques, and adjunct analgesic medications while in hospital
  • Length of hospital stay
  • Presence and duration of mechanical ventilation
  • Number of surgeries

Follow ups: 1 (± 3 days) and 3 months (± 1 week) via telephone

  • Pain assessment using the numerical rating scale at rest and with deep inspiration
  • Self-Report Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (S-LANSS) for neuropathic pain
  • EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) for health related quality of life
  • Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) sleep disturbance 6a for sleep
  • Medication use (analgesics, neuropathic pain medications)
  • Neurologic assessment at discharge (GCS, diagnosis of traumatic brain injury)
  • Brain imaging findings on presentation (if applicable)

Patients who are found to have intercostal neuralgia at 3 month follow up assessment can be referred to the pain clinic and choose to be sent for formal ultrasound to identify and characterize findings to indicate the presence of neuroma (a non-cancerous tumor or growth of nerve tissue), degree of scarring, or any other pain generating causes, if agreed. Participants' preferences regarding the disclosure of neuroma, including their right to know or not to know, will be respected (as described in the consent form).

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.
Observational

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.
100

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.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4N 3M5
        • Recruiting
        • Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
        • 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

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with acute traumatic rib fractures requiring chest tube insertion for management.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults (≥18 years) with traumatic rib fractures requiring chest tube insertion
  • Chest tube or pigtail insertion performed during their initial hospitalization for trauma

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with spinal cord injury
  • Inability to complete follow-up assessments (e.g., language barriers, lack of telephone access)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with traumatic brain injury
  • Patients with spinal cord injury
  • Inability to complete follow-up assessments (e.g., language barriers, lack of telephone access)

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Chest tube inserted
Patients with acute traumatic rib fracture/chest injury requiring chest tube insertion
Procedure: Chest tube insertion
Insertion of chest tube

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
Incidence of intercostal neuralgia
Time Frame: 1 and 3 months
To determine the incidence of intercostal neuralgia in patients undergoing chest tube insertion after traumatic rib fractures. Presence of neuropathic pain to be assessed using S-LANSS (score of 12 or more suggests pain of predominantly neuropathic origin)
1 and 3 months

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
Assess the impact of intercostal neuralgia on medication use
Time Frame: 1 and 3 months
Determine the impact of intercostal neuralgia on medication use including opioids and anti-neuropathic medications by collection and assessment of quantity of medications taken for pain relief related to intercostal neuralgia.
1 and 3 months
Assess the impact of intercostal neuralgia on quality of life and functional outcomes
Time Frame: 1 and 3 months
Assess the impact of intercostal neuralgia on quality of life using EQ-5D-5L (assesses 5 dimensions, with 1 indicating 'no problems' and 5 indicating 'extreme problems')
1 and 3 months
Assess the impact of intercostal neuralgia on quality of life and functional outcomes
Time Frame: 1 and 3 months
Assess the impact of intercostal neuralgia on quality of life using Promis 6a Sleep questionnaire (scale 1 to 5, with higher numbers indicating poor outcomes and lower numbers indicating good outcomes)
1 and 3 months

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.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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.
January 19, 2026

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, 2027

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, 2027

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).
September 5, 2025

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.
December 19, 2025

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.
December 29, 2025

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.
May 15, 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.
May 13, 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.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • SUN 6775

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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