Blue Light as an Anti-inflammatory and Analgesic Strategy in Thoracic Trauma

The main goal of this clinical trial is to learn if light therapy improves pain and inflammation in adults with painful rib fractures. The main question it aims to answer is: \- Does bright blue light therapy in addition to standard pain treatments improve pain with breathing in adults with painful rib fractures? Researchers will compare participants who receive bright blue light therapy to participants who receive white light therapy and participants who receive only usual lighting conditions to look for differences in their pain control. In addition to their assigned light treatment, all participants will receive standard pain control treatments. Participants will be assigned randomly to one of three groups: one-third will be assigned to bright blue light therapy, one-third will be assigned to bright white light therapy, and one-third will be assigned to usual light only. They will receive their assigned light treatment for 4 hours during the morning/early afternoon for up to 3 days while they are in the hospital. On each day they receive the light treatment and on the day after their final light treatment: * They will be asked twice to rate their pain at rest and with taking a deep breath. * They will be tested to confirm that they are not experiencing delirium, or confusion related to being in the hospital. * Blood samples will be collected to look for changes in inflammation and the circadian clock, the body's natural 24-hour cycle.

NCT Number	NCT06626334
Lead Sponsor	Rebecca E Kotcher, MD Collaborators: National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), University of Pittsburgh
Conditions	Rib Fractures, Pain, Acute
Enrollment	75 participants
Start Date	2024-10-23
Primary Completion	2026-07 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-08 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-03-04