Ultrasound-Guided Erector Spinae Plane Block Versus Thoracoscopically-Guided Intercostal Nerve Block in Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Regional Anesthesia, Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS), Erector Spinae Plane Block, Intercostal Nerve Block

In brief

Effective postoperative pain management is essential after thoracic surgery. Insufficient pain control may impair breathing and coughing, increasing the risk of pulmonary complications such as collapsed lungs (atelectasis) or pneumonia. Although minimally invasive lung surgery (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, VATS) is less painful than open surgery, people can still have significant pain after the operation. The goal of this randomized comparative study is to compare two commonly used regional anesthesia techniques for pain control after VATS in adults. Researchers will compare an ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block (ESPB), performed by anesthesiologists, to a thoracoscopically-guided intercostal nerve block (ICNB), performed by surgeons. Participants will: * Undergo elective VATS lung resection surgery * Receive either ESPB or ICNB, according to random assignment * Have the received amount of analgesics recorded during the first 24 hours * Have their pain levels assessed at predefined time points after surgery The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Does ESPB result in similar analgesic consumption in the first 24 hours after surgery? * Does ESPB provide similar postoperative pain relief compared to ICNB? * Is the time needed to perform ESPB similar to ICNB?

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07535697

Run by

Sana Klinikum Offenbach

People needed

72

Starts

2026-05-04

Expected to finish

2027-05-03

Last updated by the study team

2026-05-01

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Provision of written informed consent
• Adults (≥ 18 years of age)
• Elective video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for pulmonary resection (e.g., lobectomy, segmentectomy, wedge resection)

You may not qualify if…

• Lack of informed consent
• Language barrier
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding
• Known allergy to local anesthetics used in the study
• Infection at the injection site(s)
• History of complex chest wall surgery
• Revision surgery with a prior operation within the last 6 months
• Intraoperative conversion to open thoracotomy
• Chronic pain syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic opioid use
• Chronic alcohol abuse
• Chronic substance abuse (e.g., THC, amphetamines, cocaine)
• History of psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression, schizophrenia)
• Impaired consciousness, cognition, or ability to communicate
• Known coagulopathy (including platelet count < 80,000/µL or prolonged PTT/aPTT >1.5× the upper limit of normal)
• Ongoing therapeutic anticoagulation

Where it is running

• Sana Klinikum Offenbach — Offenbach, Hesse, Germany (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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