Dexamethasone for Reduction of Post Thoracotomy Pain Syndrome
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2022-07-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Post thoracotomy pain syndrome still affects 50% of patients after a thoracic surgery.
Pathogenesis is unclear but there is growing evidence that neuro inflammation may play a
significant role. Dexamethasone is a very potent anti-inflammatory drug. The hypothesis of
this study is that dexamethasone, given pre operatively, would help reduce the incidence of
post thoracotomy pain syndrome 3 months after surgery, by reducing the inflammatory response,
in patients undergoing elective thoracic surgery that includes thoracic epidural analgesia.