An interventional study of Pain Neuroscience Education in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting and Postoperative Pain, sponsored by İsmail Palalı. Completed at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-27.
Sponsored by İsmail Palalı · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effects of a single preoperative pain neuroscience education (PNE) session on postoperative pain-related outcomes in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Participants were randomly allocated to either a PNE group, which received a structured preoperative PNE session in addition to routine preoperative care, or a control group, which received routine preoperative information and care. Outcomes included pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain vigilance and awareness, and pressure pain threshold. Assessments were conducted preoperatively and at 24 hours, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery.
This study was designed as a prospective, two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial involving patients scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The study investigated whether preoperative pain neuroscience education could influence acute and persistent postoperative pain-related outcomes following CABG.
Participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group or a control group. Participants in the intervention group received a structured pain neuroscience education session before surgery in addition to routine preoperative care. The educational session addressed the neurophysiology of pain, the role of the nervous system and brain in pain perception, factors that may influence pain experiences, common misconceptions about pain, and strategies for understanding and coping with postoperative pain. Participants in the control group received routine preoperative information and care without structured pain neuroscience education.
Assessments were performed at baseline before surgery and at 24 hours, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery. Pain intensity was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS). Pain-related cognitive and attentional factors were assessed using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ). Pressure pain threshold (PPT) was assessed using a digital pressure algometer.
The study aimed to determine whether a brief preoperative educational intervention targeting pain-related knowledge and beliefs could improve postoperative pain and pain-related outcomes in patients undergoing CABG.
5,640 studies on the registry are indexed under Pain, Postoperative; 1,230 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 76 is close to the median of 75 across 4,821 interventional studies indexed under Pain, Postoperative.
Browse Pain, Postoperative studies →İsmail Palalı is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.
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.
Adults aged 18 years or older Scheduled for elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) through median sternotomy Able to understand and communicate sufficiently to participate in the education and outcome assessments Provided to participate in the study
Exclusion Criteria:
Emergency CABG surgery Concomitant cardiac surgical procedures other than CABG Inability to understand or participate in the pain neuroscience education session Cognitive or communication impairment preventing completion of study assessments Postoperative clinical conditions preventing participation in the planned assessments
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants received a structured preoperative pain neuroscience education (PNE) session in addition to routine preoperative care. The education addressed the neurophysiology of pain, the role of the nervous system and brain in pain perception, factors influencing pain experiences, common misconceptions about pain, and strategies for understanding and coping with postoperative pain.
Behavioral: Pain Neuroscience Education
Participants received routine preoperative information and standard care provided to patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). No structured pain neuroscience education was provided to this group.
Participants received a structured pain neuroscience education session preoperatively in addition to routine preoperative care. The education addressed the neurophysiology of pain, the role of the nervous system and brain in pain perception, factors influencing the pain experience, common pain-related misconceptions, and strategies for understanding and coping with postoperative pain.
Cough-Evoked Surgical-Site Pain Intensity at 3 Months
Cough-evoked pain intensity at the surgical site was assessed using a 0-10 pain rating scale, with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity.
Time frame: 3 months after surgery
Cough-Evoked Surgical-Site Pain Intensity
Cough-evoked pain intensity at the surgical site was assessed using a 0-10 pain rating scale, with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity.
Time frame: 24 hours and 1 month after surgery
Pain Catastrophizing
Pain catastrophizing was assessed using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). The PCS consists of 13 items scored from 0 to 4, yielding a total score ranging from 0 to 52. Higher scores indicate greater pain catastrophizing.
Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery
Pain Vigilance and Awareness
Pain-related vigilance and attention were assessed using the Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ). The PVAQ consists of 16 items, with higher total scores indicating greater attention to and vigilance for pain.
Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery
Local Pressure Pain Threshold
Local mechanical pain sensitivity was assessed using pressure pain threshold (PPT) testing with a pressure algometer at a site adjacent to the sternotomy region. The pressure at which the sensation first became painful was recorded, with higher PPT values indicating lower mechanical pain sensitivity.
Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery
Remote Pressure Pain Threshold
Remote mechanical pain sensitivity was assessed using pressure pain threshold (PPT) testing with a pressure algometer at a site remote from the surgical area. The pressure at which the sensation first became painful was recorded, with higher PPT values indicating lower mechanical pain sensitivity
Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery
Chronic Postsurgical Pain
The presence of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) was assessed at 3 months after CABG based on the presence of persistent pain related to the surgical procedure.
Time frame: 3 months after surgery
Plan to share: No — Individual participant data are not planned to be publicly shared.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get 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.
İsmail Palalı