Auriculo-Nerve Stimulation on Post-Operative Opioid Requirement
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT05506878. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
Reduction of Opioid Requirement Associated With Auriculo-Nerve Stimulation Following Open Surgery
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
The NSS-2 BRIDGE® device (NSS stands for Neuro-Stimulation System) is a disposable device that stimulates the branches of cranial nerves and of the superficial cervical plexus innervating the ear. Because the stimulation of the nerves of the ear by the NSS-2 BRIDGE® device (NBD®) has been shown to modulate pain pathways in rodents, decrease abdominal pain in adolescents with inflammatory bile syndrome and due to the results of our preliminary pilot study, the investigators hypothesized that this technique may also be effective in reducing the requirement for postoperative opioids and provide a non-pharmacological alternative to perioperative opioid use. To establish the role that the stimulation of the nerves of the ear may have in reducing postoperative opioid requirement, the investigators are proposing to conduct a randomized, placebo controlled study in patients undergoing open abdominal or pelvic surgery requiring at least 5 days of hospitalization. Subjects who have signed an informed consent will be randomized in 2 groups (active NBD® group or inactive NBD® group). Furthermore, since preoperative and postoperative mood disorders have been shown to increase postoperative pain levels and opioid requirement by up to 50%, the investigators further hypothesize that the stimulation of the ear nerves by the NSS-2 BRIDGE® effects may be in part mediated by a reduction of the level of anxiety, depression and catastrophizing as assessed using validated questionnaires.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT05506878
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 286 participants
Conditions and interventions
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Oct 23, 2022
- Primary completion
- Jan 12, 2026
- Completion
- Apr 12, 2026
- Last update posted
- Jul 23, 2026
2022 – 2026
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 4
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Magee-Womens Hospital | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 15213 | — |
| UPMC Montefiore Hospital | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 15213 | — |
| University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Shadyside Hospital | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 15232 | — |
| University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Passavant Hospital | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 15237 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT05506878, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Jul 23, 2026 · Synced Sep 2, 2026
Related: full search, browse by condition, browse by drug or therapy, browse by sponsor, browse by U.S. city.
Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT05506878 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.