Grant: Project Grant

Many patients who undergo heart surgery experience long-term pain that if left unmanaged, can significantly reduce their quality of life, intensify their medical problems and increase their risk of dying. Identifying treatments to decrease the pain experienced after heart surgery and reduce the use of pain medicines called opioids is an important clinical priority. The superficial parasternal intercostal plane (SPIP) block is a procedure that involves administering a drug that reduces the feeling of pain between the chest wall muscle and the muscles between the ribs. There is currently very little data on the effectiveness of the SPIP to reduce pain and how it may affect the short- and long-term need for pain medications. The cross-Canada Enhanced PeriOperative Cardiovascular Healthcare (EPOCH) CardioLink-10 trial will involve roughly 314 participants who are undergoing heart surgery. It will investigate whether the pain medication ropivacaine improves pain control and pain-related outcomes among people who have undergone heart surgery that involved the separation of their breastbone. Assessments of pain, recovery, mental state (confusion), and need for pain medications will be assessed before discharge from the hospital as well as 6 weeks and 3 months after the surgery. EPOCH CardioLink-10 is one of the largest multicentre trial to date to evaluate a pain management strategy among heart surgery patients and will provide important information on how to manage pain and improve the quality of life these individuals.