NCT04158024

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
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 150 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Stanford University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 32 Weeks – 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

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.

Conditions

• Congenital Heart Disease in Children
• Neurologic Complication

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Erector 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.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-11-01
• Primary completion: 2026-11-01
• Completion: 2026-11-01
• First posted: 2019-11-08
• Last updated: 2025-05-01