Superficial Parasternal Intercostal Plane Block in Cardiac Surgery Trial
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Unity Health Toronto
- Where
- Canada4 sites in 1 countryChoose a country to see its sites
- Trial code
- Status
- Completed
- People taking part
- 340 people enrolled
- Started
- 8 Sept 2023
- Ended
- 4 Mar 2026
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets a placebo (a dummy treatment), for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Intermittent Superficial Parasternal Intercostal Plane Block - Experimental
- Intermittent Superficial Parasternal Intercostal Plane Block - Placebo
- Record updated
- 6 March 2026
Who can take part
- Age
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- Women and men
- Healthy volunteers
- Cannot take part
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 12 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery via median sternotomy
Who cannot take part
- Emergency procedures (surgery within 2 hours)
- Surgery for infective endocarditis
- Receipt of an investigational drug or device within past 7 days
- Redo sternotomy, or cardiac surgery performed through non-sternotomy approaches (minimally invasive procedures, thoracotomies, mini-sternotomy, hemi-sternotomy, etc.)
- Active systemic bacterial infection including infective endocarditis or pre-existing sternal infections
- Chronic opioid/narcotic use > 6 weeks, active use of illicit drugs, long-term opioid exposure or chronic pain disorder/syndromes
- Allergies to amide anesthetic agents or any components of study interventions
- Inability to comply with, or participate in, protocol (i.e. cognitive impairment/altered mental status/neurological deficit or disorder, inability to provide informed consent, inability to complete pain rating scales, etc.)
- Clinical instability which in the judgement of the investigator precludes enrollment or participation in the study
- Weight < 50kg
- Pregnancy or nursing
This trial has no sites in United States.
It has sites in one country. Choose a country to see its sites.
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The goal of this clinical trial is to assess whether the use of intermittent superficial parasternal intercostal plane blocks reduces opioid usage in patients undergoing cardiac surgery with median sternotomy.
Read full original descriptionShow less
Participants randomized to the intervention group will receive the blocks with 0.2% ropivacaine administered via catheters placed in the superficial parasternal intercostal plane bilaterally under ultrasound guidance. Researchers will compare this group with a control group given 0.9% saline through similarly placed catheters. The primary outcome will be cumulative postoperative opioid use (measured as Milligram Morphine Equivalent (MME)) up to 72 hours following catheter insertion.
The 2 groups in the trial
- 0.2% ropivacaineTreatment being tested
Intermittent superficial parasternal intercostal plane block via ultrasound-guided catheter placement. Initial bolus dosing of 20 milliliter (mL) of 0.2% ropivacaine per side after catheter placement, followed by intermittent boluses of 5 mL 0.2% ropivacaine per side every 3-4 hours. There will be a basal infusion rate of 0.1-1mL/hr per side.
Treatment: Intermittent Superficial Parasternal Intercostal Plane Block - Experimental
- 0.9% salinePlacebo, for comparison
Intermittent superficial parasternal intercostal plane block via ultrasound-guided catheter placement. Initial bolus dosing of 20 milliliter (mL) of placebo(0.9% saline) per side after catheter placement, followed by intermittent boluses of 5 mL placebo(0.9% saline) per side every 3-4 hours. There will be a basal infusion rate of 0.1-1mL/hr per side.
Treatment: Intermittent Superficial Parasternal Intercostal Plane Block - Placebo
Data and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Efficacy of Intermittent Superficial Parasternal Intercostal Plane Block on Postoperative Pain Control in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery With Median Sternotomy - EPOCH Randomized Clinical Trial
- Publications
- Record updated
- 6 March 2026