Erector Spinae Versus Intercostal Nerve Blocks With Liposomal Bupivacaine for Analgesia in Thoracic Surgery

April 6, 2026 updated by: Akhil Patel, George Washington University
This clinical trial compares efficacy in postoperative pain management in thoracic surgery between erector spinae block versus liposomal bupivacaine injections.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

120

Phase

  • Phase 3

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 Locations

  • United States
    • District of Columbia
      • Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20037
        • Recruiting
        • The George Washington University Hospital
        • 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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Video assisted pulmonary resection, pleurodesis or decortication

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Allergy to local anesthetics
  • Patient undergoing bilateral surgery
  • Surgery is emergent as deemed by the principal investigator

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
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Preoperative Erector Spinae Block (ESB)(Bupivacaine)(Marcaine®)
Drug: Erector Spinae (ESP) Block with Bupivacaine (Marcaine®)
preoperative erector spinae block with bupivacaine (Marcaine®)
Drug: Intercostal nerve block
intraoperative intercostal nerve block with liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel®)
Active Comparator: Intraoperative Intercostal Nerve Block (INB)(Liposomal Bupivacaine)(Exparel®)
Drug: Erector Spinae (ESP) Block with Bupivacaine (Marcaine®)
preoperative erector spinae block with bupivacaine (Marcaine®)
Drug: Intercostal nerve block
intraoperative intercostal nerve block with liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel®)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperative pain control assessment
Time Frame: Up to 48 hours postoperatively
Study team will assess postoperative pain scores at 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours (Minimum numerical pain score of 0 and a maximum of 10)
Up to 48 hours postoperatively
Morphine equivalent assessment
Time Frame: Up to 72 hours postoperatively
Study team will collect information on all administered pain medications to calculate morphine equivalents
Up to 72 hours postoperatively

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperative pain control assessment
Time Frame: Up to 72 hours postoperatively
Study team will assess postoperative pain scores at 72 hours (Minimum numerical pain score of 0 and a maximum of 10)
Up to 72 hours postoperatively

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

George Washington University

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)

March 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

February 28, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 24, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 31, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

February 5, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 6, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NCR246143

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

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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