A Study Of Stellate Ganglion Blockade With Liposomal Bupivacaine In Preventing Atrial Fibrillation After Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery

September 4, 2026 updated by: Juan Ripoll Sanz, Mayo Clinic

Effectiveness Of Liposomal Bupivacaine Stellate Ganglion Blockade In Preventing Atrial Fibrillation After Isolated Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study is assess the incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) within one week of surgery in patients who receive pre-surgical stellate ganglion blockade with liposomal bupivacaine, compared to those receiving a saline placebo, using continuous electrocardiographic monitoring via wearable ECG devices.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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.
450

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.
  • Phase 4

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 Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Mayo Clinic in Rochester

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 aged ≥40 years scheduled to undergo isolated coronary artery bypass grafting will be eligible.
  • Cases will also remain eligible if, after the initial surgical listing, additional procedures-such as valvular interventions or septal myectomy-are performed, OR if coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is listed as the primary intervention with other procedures noted as possible additional interventions.
  • Cases will also remain eligible if additional procedures-such as left atrial appendage ligation, MAZE procedure, cryotherapy, or pulmonary vein isolation-are concomitantly listed with the CABG.

Exclusion criteria:

  • Permanent atrial fibrillation
  • Mechanical circulatory support implant or explant
  • Procedures not requiring cardiopulmonary bypass
  • Heart and/or lung transplant patients
  • Active infection/sepsis
  • Pre-operative anti-arrhythmic use (aside from beta-blockers).
  • Participant has a known allergy to adhesives or hydrogels.
  • Participant has a visible skin injury or broken skin at the location for study device placement.
  • Participant does not have the competency to wear the device for the prescribed patching period.
  • Participant has a neuro-stimulator, as it may disrupt the quality of ECG data.
  • Participants who are pregnant. In accordance with Mayo Clinic's standard cardiac surgery protocol, all women of childbearing potential undergo routine preoperative pregnancy testing. Pregnancy status will therefore be confirmed prior to enrollment. Any participant with a positive pregnancy test will be deemed ineligible and will not be enrolled in the study.
  • Participants who lack the capacity to provide informed consent will not be approached or enrolled in this study.

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: Double

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: Stellate ganglion block using liposomal bupivacaine
10 mL of liposomal bupivacaine 133 mg (133 mg/10 ml or 1.33%)
Drug: Liposomal bupivacaine
Patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting will receive a stellate ganglion block using liposomal bupivacaine prior to surgery
Placebo Comparator: Sham block using saline placebo
10 mL of saline placebo injected in the plane of the right stellate ganglion
Drug: Placebo
Patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting will receive a saline placebo injection to the stellate ganglion prior to surgery

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 new-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) within one week of isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery
Time Frame: 1 week
Total number of patients to experience postoperative atrial fibrillation within one week of CABG surgery.
1 week

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
Total duration of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) episodes within the first postoperative week
Time Frame: 1 week
Duration of postoperative atrial fibrillation episodes will assessed via continuous ECG monitoring and reported in minutes
1 week
Number of patients with successful stellate ganglion blockade
Time Frame: 1 week
Success rate of the stellate ganglion blockade is defined as a ≥1.0°C increase in ipsilateral hand skin temperature from baseline and/or a reduction in skin sympathetic nerve activity (SKNA) as measured by noninvasive surface recordings pre- and post-block.
1 week

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.
Mayo Clinic

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Juan G. Ripoll Sanz, MD, Mayo Clinic

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.

Helpful Links

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 (Estimated)

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.
September 14, 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.
September 1, 2030

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.
September 1, 2030

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).
April 30, 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.
April 30, 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.
May 6, 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.
September 9, 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.
September 4, 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.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 25-009333

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

Yes

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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