Preventing Pain After Heart Surgery. Version 2.0

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Prospective, double-blinded, randomised, placebo controlled trial of pre-emptive analgesia to prevent pain following sternotomy for cardiac surgery.

• IRAS ID

  66150

• Contact name

  Richard Langford

• Sponsor organisation

  Research and Development, Barts and The London NHS Trust

• Eudract number

  2010-024462-21

• ISRCTN Number

  n/a

• Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier

  n/a

• Research summary

  Lifelong pain in and around the incision site after open heart surgery is surprisingly common but poorly understood. An estimated one - third of open heart surgery patients complain of disabling pain which is incredibly difficult to treat once established. Our understanding of long term pain is that the spinal cord is sensitive immediately after surgery to the barrage of stimulation from the surgical site and it is this which leads to ??wind up?? or sensitisation of the pathways. Prevention of this phenomenon is believed to prevent chronic pain in other operations. The consequences of long term pain are increased use of pain killers, restricted daily activities and significant effects on quality of life as well as increased healthcare utilisation. Our research will involve a group of 150 patients in a trial to receive two established drugs that have been shown to reduce long term pain after other forms of surgery. In this controlled trial, these patients will be assessed in an unbiased way at three months after surgery to see if receiving these drugs had a significant effect on symptoms.

• REC name

  London - City & East Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  11/H0703/7

• Date of REC Opinion

  26 Apr 2011

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion