Comparison of IV Analgesia, Thoracic Epidural Analgesia, and ESP Block for Chronic Pain After Open Heart Surgery

This prospective observational study aims to compare three routinely used postoperative analgesia techniques in patients undergoing open heart surgery: intravenous analgesia, thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA), and bilateral erector spinae plane block (ESPB). The primary objective is to evaluate the impact of these analgesia modalities on the development of chronic postoperative pain at 3 months. Secondary objectives include assessing postoperative acute pain scores, additional analgesic requirements, extubation time, mobilization time, intensive care unit stay, hospital stay, respiratory complications, and the relationship between acute and chronic pain. No intervention is assigned by protocol, and all analgesia methods are applied as part of routine clinical practice.

NCT Number	NCT07257744
Lead Sponsor	Karadeniz Technical University
Conditions	Chronic Postoperative Pain, Open Heart Surgery, Postoperative Analgesia, Analgesia
Enrollment	90 participants
Start Date	2025-02-15
Primary Completion	2025-12-20 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-04-20 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-12-02