Analgesia With Transdermal Buprenorphine Patch in Adults Undergoing Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

July 24, 2026 updated by: Clínica Dávila

Analgesia With a 5 mcg/Hour Transdermal Buprenorphine Patch as Part of Multimodal Analgesia in Adults Undergoing Unilateral Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery: A Triple-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Postoperative pain remains a major challenge after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), despite the use of multimodal analgesia. This randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial will evaluate whether adding a 5 mcg/hour transdermal buprenorphine patch to the standard multimodal analgesic regimen reduces postoperative pain in adults undergoing unilateral VATS. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either transdermal buprenorphine or placebo in addition to standard analgesia. Postoperative pain will be assessed at 24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes include opioid rescue requirements, length of hospital stay, postoperative nausea and vomiting, pruritus, and urinary retention.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is associated with moderate to severe postoperative pain that may impair respiratory function, delay recovery, prolong hospitalization, and contribute to the development of persistent postoperative pain. Current guidelines recommend multimodal analgesia, including non-opioid analgesics and regional anesthesia techniques, while opioids are generally reserved for rescue analgesia.

Transdermal buprenorphine is a long-acting partial μ-opioid receptor agonist that has demonstrated efficacy in reducing postoperative pain and opioid consumption in several surgical settings. However, evidence regarding its use in thoracic surgery is currently lacking.

This is a single-center, randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial conducted at Clínica Dávila, Santiago, Chile. Adult patients undergoing unilateral video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either a 5 mcg/hour transdermal buprenorphine patch plus standard multimodal analgesia or placebo plus standard multimodal analgesia. Randomization will be computer-generated using sequentially numbered opaque sealed envelopes. Participants, investigators, outcome assessors, and the statistician will remain blinded to treatment allocation.

The primary outcome is postoperative pain intensity measured using the Numeric Rating Scale (0-10) at 24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes include opioid rescue consumption expressed as morphine equivalents, postoperative nausea and vomiting, pruritus, urinary retention, and length of hospital stay. The planned sample size is 90 participants (45 per group).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

90

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

  • Chile
    • Santiago Metropolitan
      • Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan, Chile, 8431657
        • Recruiting
        • Clínica Dávila
        • Contact:
        • 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:

  • Adults aged 18 years or older.
  • Scheduled for elective unilateral video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).
  • American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I-III.
  • Able to understand the study procedures and provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known allergy or hypersensitivity to buprenorphine or any component of the transdermal patch.
  • Chronic opioid use before surgery.
  • Severe hepatic impairment.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
  • Inability to complete postoperative pain assessments.
  • Any condition that, in the investigator's opinion, could interfere with study participation or outcome assessment.

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: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Buprenorphine Patch
Participants will receive a 5 mcg/hour transdermal buprenorphine patch before surgery in addition to standard multimodal analgesia.
Drug: Buprenorphine (BUP)
Transdermal buprenorphine patch (5 mcg/hour) administered preoperatively as part of multimodal analgesia.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Patch
Participants will receive a placebo transdermal patch before surgery in addition to standard multimodal analgesia.
Other: Placebo
Placebo transdermal patch identical in appearance to the active patch and administered preoperatively as part of multimodal analgesia.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperative Pain Intensity Measured Using the Numeric Rating Scale
Time Frame: 24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery
Postoperative pain intensity will be assessed using the Numeric Rating Scale, ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst imaginable pain. Pain scores will be compared between the buprenorphine and placebo groups across the postoperative assessment time points.
24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Postoperative Rescue Opioid Consumption
Time Frame: From the end of surgery through 7 days after surgery
Total rescue opioid consumption will be obtained from the clinical record and expressed in milligrams of intravenous morphine equivalents. Opioid consumption will be compared between the study groups.
From the end of surgery through 7 days after surgery
Incidence of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting
Time Frame: 24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery
The presence or absence of postoperative nausea or vomiting will be recorded at each postoperative assessment. The outcome will be reported as the number and percentage of participants experiencing nausea or vomiting in each study group.
24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery
Incidence of Postoperative Pruritus
Time Frame: 24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery
The presence or absence of postoperative pruritus will be recorded at each assessment. The outcome will be reported as the number and percentage of participants experiencing pruritus in each study group.
24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery
Incidence of Postoperative Urinary Retention Requiring Bladder Catheterization
Time Frame: 24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery
Postoperative urinary retention will be defined as the need for bladder catheterization. The outcome will be reported as the number and percentage of participants requiring catheterization in each study group.
24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after surgery
Length of Hospital Stay
Time Frame: From the day of surgery until hospital discharge, assessed up to 30 days
Length of hospital stay will be calculated as the number of complete days from the postoperative period until hospital discharge, based on the electronic clinical record.
From the day of surgery until hospital discharge, assessed up to 30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Clínica Dávila

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, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 24, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 24, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CD2025/035

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared because the study protocol does not include a data-sharing plan. Study data will be anonymized, securely stored, and used exclusively for the purposes described in the approved research protocol, in accordance with applicable ethical and institutional requirements.

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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