A Phase 4 interventional study of ESB Thoracic in Pulmonary Neoplasm, Pulmonary Cancer and Thoracic Diseases, sponsored by George Washington University. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 90 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-25.
Sponsored by George Washington University · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment
The aim of this study is to determine if erector spinae injections with bolus infusions with local anesthetic decrease postsurgical pain and opioid consumption in patients undergoing pulmonary resection surgery.
The research hypothesis for the ESB Thoracic study is that erector spinae blocks with boluses of bupivacaine infusions will decrease patients' postsurgical pain, and thereby decrease the amount of narcotic pain medication used. This will be of particular use in patients who have an anticoagulation need and are not able to receive more invasive nerve blocks.To achieve appropriate exposure for pulmonary resection surgery, whether open or video-assisted, patients have surgical incision in the lateral thoracic region, including disruption to the tributaries of the spinal nerves. Due to this dissection, patients frequently experience significant pain post-operatively. Erector spinae blocks with bupivacaine or ropivacaine with bolus infusion therapy have been shown to treat this spinal nerve pain effectively in rib fractures, thoracoscopic surgeries, and breast surgeries. However, there have been no definitive studies evaluating the effectiveness of erector spinae blocks in postoperative pulmonary resection surgery patients.
It is expected that patients with erector spinae blocks (ESB) will have lower pain visual analogue scores (VAS) and lower total opioid consumption. Learning more about the effectiveness of ESB can help in providing adjunct therapy and thereby minimize post-operative opioids, use of which can add further complications in this group of patients through decreased ventilation and increased atelectasis and hypercarbia. As well, current neuraxial local anesthetic therapy involving epidurals and paravertebral blocks require an absence of anticoagulation in the patient; as a fascial plane block, erector spinae blocks can be safely placed in patients on anticoagulation.
5,422 studies on the registry are indexed under Lung Neoplasms; 1,346 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 70 is above the median of 60 across 3,656 interventional studies indexed under Lung Neoplasms.
Browse Lung Neoplasms studies →George Washington University is the lead sponsor of 192 studies on the registry; 34 are open to participants now.
Of its 13 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 11 (85%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Patients randomized to this group will receive an erector spinae block in addition to the standard of care treatment
Drug: ESB Thoracic
Patients randomized to this group will receive standard of care treatment and NO erector spinae block
Erector spinae thoracic block with bupivacaine
Outcome Measure - Pain Score and Pain Medications (6 hours)
Study team members will record the patients' visual analogue pain score pain score on the scale of 0-10 (pain score 0-10 numerical rating) at 6 hours, as well as pain medications given. In addition, all patients will receive a Pain Diary with which to record the pain scores and medications received/taken. If a patient is discharged prior to the 24 hours, the patient will continue to fill out the Pain Diary at home up to the 24 hour mark. A phone call by a member of the study team within 72 hours of leaving the hospital will be initiated to review the Pain Diary for data collection purposes.
Time frame: At 6 hours postoperatively
Outcome Measure - Pain Score and Pain Medications (12 hours)
Study team members will record the patients' visual analogue pain score pain score on the scale of 0-10 (pain score 0-10 numerical rating) at 12 hours, as well as pain medications given. In addition, all patients will receive a Pain Diary with which to record the pain scores and medications received/taken. If a patient is discharged prior to the 24 hours, the patient will continue to fill out the Pain Diary at home up to the 24 hour mark. A phone call by a member of the study team within 72 hours of leaving the hospital will be initiated to review the Pain Diary for data collection purposes.
Time frame: At 12 hours postoperatively
Outcome Measure - Pain Score and Pain Medications (24 hours)
Study team members will record the patients' visual analogue pain score pain score on the scale of 0-10 (pain score 0-10 numerical rating) at 24 hours, as well as pain medications given. In addition, all patients will receive a Pain Diary with which to record the pain scores and medications received/taken. If a patient is discharged prior to the 24 hours, the patient will continue to fill out the Pain Diary at home up to the 24 hour mark. A phone call by a member of the study team within 72 hours of leaving the hospital will be initiated to review the Pain Diary for data collection purposes.
Time frame: At 24 hours postoperatively
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
George Washington University →