Opioid-Free Anesthesia and Pain Study in Cardiac Surgery Patients (OFPAINS-CS)

May 24, 2026 updated by: Dejan Markovic, Clinical Centre of Serbia

Assessment od the Effects of Opioid-Free Anesthesia on Acute and Chronich Postsurgical Pain in Cardiac Surgery Patinets: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effect of opioid-free anesthesia on the intensity of acute and chronic postoperative pain in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The study will also evaluate the safety of opioid-free anesthesia in this patient population.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Is opioid-free anesthesia effective in reducing the intensity of acute and chronic postoperative pain in cardiac surgery patients?
  • Is this anesthetic technique safe in this patient population? Patients will be randomized before surgery into two groups. In the first group, anesthesia will be performed with opioids, while in the second group, anesthesia will be performed without opioids. Researchers will measure acute postoperative pain during the first 48 hours using the Numeric Rating Pain Scale (NRPS). Chronic postoperative pain will be assessed after 3 months via a telephone interview.

Additionally, the incidence of adverse events-including postoperative delirium (POD), hemodynamic instability, respiratory complications, constipation, and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV)-as well as overall treatment outcomes, will be evaluated.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

400

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • Serbia
      • Belgrade, Serbia
        • Clinical Center of Serbia

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:

  • elective cardiac surgery patients

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Emergecy cardiac surgery patients

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
Experimental: Opioid-Free Anesthesia Groupe
Patients in the opioid-free group will receive anesthesia without any opioids.
Procedure: Opioid Free Anaesthesia
Anesthesia will consist of a multimodal combination of general non-opioid agents (propofol, dexmedetomidine, midazolam, sevoflurane, and esketamine) supplemented by regional anesthesia techniques, including the erector spinae plane block (ESPB), serratus anterior plane block, and parasternal block.
Other Names:
  • Anesthesia
  • Opioid-free
Active Comparator: Opioid anesthesia groupe
In the opioid group, patients will receive conventional opioid-based anesthesia.
Procedure: Opioid Anesthesia
This will include intraoperative opioids (e.g., fentanyl or sufentanil) in combination with general anesthetic agents such as propofol, sevoflurane, and midazolam, supplemented by additional analgesics as required. Regional anesthesia techniques (e.g., erector spinae plane block, serratus anterior plane block, or parasternal block) may also be performed at the discretion of the attending anesthesiologist
Other Names:
  • sufentanil

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Acute postoperativ pain
Time Frame: Assessments will be performed upon extubation (T0) and then every 12 hours for the first 48 postoperative hours (at 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours).
Postoperative pain will be assessed using the Numeric Rating Pain Scale (NRPS/NRS 0-10) after cardiac surgery
Assessments will be performed upon extubation (T0) and then every 12 hours for the first 48 postoperative hours (at 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours).
Chronich postoperative pain
Time Frame: Chronic postoperative pain will be assessed 3 months after cardiac surgery. Patients will be contacted by phone
Assessed using NRS (0-10) for average and worst pain intensity. Analgesic medication use (type and dose) related to the surgery will also be recorded at this time point.
Chronic postoperative pain will be assessed 3 months after cardiac surgery. Patients will be contacted by phone

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Incidency of potsoperativ delirium
Time Frame: Screening will begin after extubation and will be performed twice daily (once in the morning and once in the evening) for the first 5 postoperative days or until discharge from the hospital.
The occurrence of postoperative delirium will be monitored using the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU). The incidence of delirium is defined as at least one positive C
Screening will begin after extubation and will be performed twice daily (once in the morning and once in the evening) for the first 5 postoperative days or until discharge from the hospital.

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Clinical Centre of Serbia

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)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

November 20, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 24, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 1, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 24, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 95/20

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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