Erector Spinae Plane Block in Kidney Transplant Pain Management

January 18, 2026 updated by: Özlem Sezen, Dr. Lutfi Kirdar Kartal Training and Research Hospital

Erector Spinae Plane Block for Postoperative Pain After Kidney Transplantation: A Prospective Study"

Use of postoperative analgesia in kidney transplant recipients has always been challenging due to several issues: potential nephrotoxicity of nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs and the reduced clearance of morphine metabolites due to transient renal impairment.Moreover, many patients with end-stage renal disease on dialysis are hepatitis C or hepatitis B virus positive, and the use of other effective analgesics, such as acetaminophen, is limited.The use of regional analgesia methods for postoperative analgesia can also be a useful option for more adequate control in these patients. Currently, methods of fascial trunk nerve blocks (including rectus sheath block, different types of transversus abdominis plane block, and erector spinae plane [ESP] block) have been shown to be effective components of multimodal anesthesia in various fields of surgery.In this study, investigators evaluated the effectiveness of ESP block in the postoperative period after kidney transplant.The aim of this prospective, randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effects of erector spinae plane block on postoperative analgesia quality, opioid consumption, and side effect profile in kidney transplant patients.The study included a total of 40 patients aged 18-65 years with ASA physical status II-III who were scheduled for elective kidney transplantation. All patients received standard general anesthesia. Anesthesia induction was achieved with propofol (2-2.5 mg/kg), fentanyl (1-2 µg/kg), and rocuronium (0.6 mg/kg). Anesthesia maintenance was provided with 6% desflurane and a 50% oxygen-air mixture.ESPB Group: USG-guided unilateral ESP block at T9 level (0.25% bupivacaine 20 ml)

  • Control Group: no block applied
  • All patients received standard postoperative analgesia protocol. Intravenous paracetamol (1 g/8 hours) was given. Intravenous tramadol (100 mg) was administered as rescue analgesic when VAS ≥ 4.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

40

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Kartal Dr Lutfi Kırdar City Hospital

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:

  • All patients had end-stage renal disease due to chronic glomerulonephritis _ physical status of class 3 on American Society of Anesthesiologists classification.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • ASA 4

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: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Control group
tandard postoperative analgesia protocol was applied. Intravenous paracetamol (1 g/8 hours) was administered. ESP block not implemented
Other: ESP block
USG-guided unilateral ESP block at T9 level (0.25% bupivacaine 20 ml)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperrative VAS scores at 24 hours
Time Frame: postoperative 24 hours
Postoperative Vas scores at 15 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours
postoperative 24 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Dr. Lutfi Kirdar Kartal Training and Research 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)

February 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 25, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 18, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 18, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 514/250/6

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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