Skip to content

Erector Spinae Plane Block in Congenital Heart Disease Patients

The Effect of Erector Spinae Plane Block on Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Neonatal Congenital Heart Disease Patients

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04158024
Enrollment
150
Registered
2019-11-08
Start date
2025-11-30
Completion date
2026-11-30
Last updated
2025-05-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Congenital Heart Disease in Children, Neurologic Complication

Keywords

Erector Spinae Plane Blockade, Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease

Brief summary

Pediatric cardiac patients undergoing surgical anesthesia are at an increased risk of poor neurologic outcome (20-50%). Unattenuated anesthetic exposure and pain contributes to physiologic perturbations that may increase neurologic morbidity. Because of the often-large exposure to anesthetic agents in these cardiac children, at such a young age and the potential modifying anesthetic practice that could lead to improved neurodevelopmental outcomes and surgical recovery is paramount. Regional anesthesia such as thoracic epidurals provide effective analgesia and reduced intraoperative anesthetic needed but carry devastating sequelae neurological risks of epidural hematomas after anticoagulation during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Recently, a newly described erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is superficial to neuraxial or vascular structures, providing opportunity to be placed with less risk for surgery requiring CPB. This block has been described as effective regional anesthesia for adult cardiac surgery.

Interventions

OTHERErector Spinae Plane Block

The ESPB is a fascial plane block performed by injecting local anesthetic between the erector spinae muscle and the transverse process. Its proposed mechanism of action is via blockade of the dorsal and ventral rami of the thoracic spinal nerves and sympathetic fibers.

Sponsors

Stanford University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
32 Weeks to 18 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Neonates of at least 32 weeks of gestation, infants and children admitted to The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital for treatment of cyanotic or non-cyanotic heart disease requiring surgical intervention. * Admitting diagnosis of cyanotic or non-cyanotic heart disease

Exclusion criteria

* Neonates less than 32 weeks of gestational age * Any documented central nervous system malformations. * Any potential subject requiring unexpected postoperative Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Neurological and Neurobehavioral Testing - Capute Scale12-48 Months Post-OperativelyEvaluate long-term neurological outcomes as per standard of care testing including the and Capute Scales. Scores 86 and higher represent typical neurological development. Scores between 71 and 85 represent borderline delays. Scores 70 or lower indicate significant delays in development.
Length of Stay (LOS)Through hospital stay, an average of 5 daysDetermine if bilateral surgical placed ESPBs will decrease length of stay in the pediatric ICU and the hospital. LOS and decrease postoperative opioid consumption.)
Postoperative Opioid ConsumptionThrough hospital stay, an average of 5 daysDetermine if bilateral surgical placed ESPBs will decrease postoperative opioid consumption measured in Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME)
Comparing Changes in EEG MonitoringPre-operatively and up to 48 hours prior to dischargeEvaluate the changes in EEG waves from measurements performed prior to induction of anesthesia to those collected following the procedure to definitively determine abnormalities in the EEG. The EEG will monitor the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Theta bandwidths to determine an abnormality.
Neurological and Neurobehavioral Testing - Bayley III12-48 Months Post-OperativelyEvaluate long-term neurological outcomes as per standard of care testing including the Bayley Exam III

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Glutamate0-72 HoursBlood Levels
N-Acetylaspartate0-72 HoursBlood Levels
Lactate0-72 HoursBlood Levels
Choline0-72 HoursBlood Levels

Contacts

Primary ContactBan Tsui
bantsui@stanford.edu(650)200-9107
Backup ContactAaron Deng
adeng1@stanford.edu(408)914-5494

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026