Intraoperative Cryoanalgesia Versus Thoracic Epidural Block in MIRPE (Minimally Invasive Repair of Pectus Excavatum) (FROZEN MIRPE)

February 18, 2026 updated by: Miguel L. Tedde, University of Sao Paulo

Comparative Study of the Efficacy of Intraoperative Intercostal Cryoanalgesia and Thoracic Epidural Block in the Postoperative Period of Minimally Invasive Pectus Excavatum Repair (MIRPE): a Prospective, Randomized Clinical Trial

The main objective of this study is to compare epidural blockade with cryoanalgesia of the intercostal nerves as an analgesic method in the postoperative period of minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE).

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.

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.
40

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: Miguel L Tedde, MD, PhD
  • Phone Number: 55-11-99653-5030
  • Email: tedde@usp.br

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Diego Arley G Silva, MD
  • Phone Number: 55-83-98650-6438
  • Email: diegoarley@usp.br

Study Locations

  • Brazil
    • São Paulo
      • São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 05403904
        • Recruiting
        • Thoracic Surgery Division, Heart Institute (InCor), University of Sao Paulo Medical School
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Miguel L Tedde, MD, PhD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Diego Arley G Silva, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Paulo Manuel Pego-Fernandes, MD, PhD

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Having pectus excavatum;
  2. Having signed the Informed Consent Form for the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Age < 13 years at the time of the procedure;
  2. Chronic use of analgesics preoperatively;
  3. Pectus carinatum, Poland syndrome, or other chest wall anomalies;
  4. Previous pectus excavatum repair by any technique;
  5. Previous thoracic surgery;
  6. Congenital heart disease;
  7. Hemorrhagic dyscrasia;
  8. Major anesthetic risk factors or history of previous problems with anesthesia;
  9. Pregnancy.

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: Intraoperative intercostal cryoanalgesia
Intercostal nerve cryoanalgesia with the Cryo-S Painless device from Metrum Cryoflex
Device: Cryotherapy
Intraoperative intercostal cryoanalgesia from T3 to T7, billateral
Active Comparator: Thoracic epidural block
Procedure: Epidural
Thoracic epidural block

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
Length of stay (LOS)
Time Frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural.
Length of stay (LOS) is measured in days from postoperative day (POD) 0 until discharge from hospital.
Perioperative/Periprocedural.

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
Numeric pain scale
Time Frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural
From 0 to 10
Perioperative/Periprocedural
Opioid use
Time Frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural
Oral Morphine Equivalents (OME)
Perioperative/Periprocedural
Postoperative complications
Time Frame: 30 days post-surgery.
Surgical complications are registered through an specific scale.
30 days post-surgery.
Readmissions to the emergency room or hospital readmission
Time Frame: Within 30 days after surgery
Compare the frequency and reason for readmissions to the emergency room or hospital admission between groups.
Within 30 days after surgery
Frequency of neuropathic pain
Time Frame: Up to 1 year post-surgery.
Incidence of chronic neuropathic pain and paresthesia up to 1 year post-surgery in the group undergoing intercostal cryoablation, using LANNS (Leeds assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs) scale.
Up to 1 year post-surgery.
Satisfaction with the post-operative result
Time Frame: Single evaluation during the outpatient follow-up 6 months after surgery.
Compare patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) between the intercostal cryoablation and thoracic epidural block groups based on postoperative satisfaction at 6 months, assessed using the Single Step Questionnaire (SSQ) score.
Single evaluation during the outpatient follow-up 6 months after surgery.
Cost of hospitalization (in Brazilian Real)
Time Frame: Perioperative/Periprocedural
Compare the total cost of hospitalization during the hospital stay between the two groups.
Perioperative/Periprocedural

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.
University of Sao Paulo

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 28, 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.
January 1, 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.
January 1, 2028

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).
January 22, 2026

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.
February 18, 2026

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.
February 24, 2026

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 18, 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.
  • 83154924.6.0000.0068

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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