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NCT03354572
Pilot Study: Postoperative Pain Reduction by Pre Emptive N-Acetylcysteine
Phase 4 trial testing Acetyl cysteine in Postoperative Pain in 60 participants. Completed in 29 October 2018.
29 October 2018
Quick facts
| Lead sponsor | Radboud University Medical Center |
|---|---|
| Phase | Phase 4 |
| Status | Completed |
| Study type | INTERVENTIONAL |
| Allocation | randomized |
| Design | parallel |
| Masking | quadruple |
| Primary purpose | treatment |
| Enrollment | 60 |
| Start date | 20 October 2017 |
| Primary completion | 29 October 2018 |
| Estimated completion | 29 October 2018 |
| Sites | 1 location across Netherlands |
Drugs / interventions tested
- Acetyl cysteine — full drug profile →
- Placebos — full drug profile →
Conditions studied
- Postoperative Pain — all drugs for Postoperative Pain →
Sponsor
Radboud University Medical Center
Who can join
18 and older, any sex, with Postoperative Pain. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.
Sponsor's own description
Despite current available analgesic drugs, post-surgical pain management remains challenging. A potential new target for analgesic drugs are group-II metabotropic glutamate receptors subtypes (mGlu2 and mGlu3 receptors), since growing evidence from animal models show that activation of these receptors produce s analgesic effects in inflammatory and in neuropathic pain states. . N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) is a safe agent and with little to no side effects. NAC can induce analgesia by activating the glutamate:cystein antiporter, causing endogenous activation of the mGlu 2/3 receptors. However, this has only been investigated once in the peri-operative setting, were it showed preliminary promising result of reduction in opiate necessity. In healthy subjects there was a significant reduction in pain ratings to laser stimuli and amplitudes of laser evoked potentials after NAC. Based on these promising results, we hypothesize that pre emptive intravenous NAC can reduce postoperative pain and thereby cause less necessity for escape analgesics like opiates.
Publications & conference data
3 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):
-
Iron homeostasis and ferroptosis in human diseases: mechanisms and therapeutic prospects.
Ru Q, Li Y, Chen L, Wu Y, et al · · 2024 · cited 365× · PMID 39396974 · DOI 10.1038/s41392-024-01969-z -
Ferroptosis in Cancer and Inflammatory Diseases: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications.
Shen G, Liu J, Wang Y, Deng Z, et al · · 2025 · cited 6× · PMID 40919133 · DOI 10.1002/mco2.70349 -
Postoperative pain reduction by pre-emptive N-acetylcysteine: an exploratory randomized controlled clinical trial.
Mulkens CE, Staatsen M, van Genugten L, Snoeker BAM, et al · · 2021 · cited 6× · PMID 34446544 · DOI 10.1136/rapm-2021-102884
Verify or expand the search:
- PubMed search for NCT03354572
- Europe PMC full search
- ASCO Meeting Library
- ESMO Meeting Library
- bioRxiv preprints
- medRxiv preprints
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Related trials
Other trials of Acetyl cysteine
Trials testing the same drug.
- NCT07364747 — Protective Effect of Acetylcysteine Against Cisplatinum-Induced Ototoxicity: A Randomized Controlled Trial · Phase 2 · recruiting
- NCT04766450 — Effect of High-Dose NAC on Patients With DPN · Phase 4 · unknown
- NCT04154982 — N-Acetylcysteine Protection Against Radiation Induced Cellular Damage · Phase 2 · completed
Other recruiting trials for Postoperative Pain
Currently open trials in the same condition.
- NCT07452120 — DIPB vs. SIFIB for Postoperative Analgesia After Hip Surgery · NA · recruiting
- NCT07396688 — Comparative Evaluation of the Effects of Calcium Hydroxide and BIO-C Temp Medicaments on Postoperative Pain in Patients · NA · recruiting
- NCT07413055 — Comparative Efficacy Of 4 mg VS. 8 mg Submucosal Dexamethasone In Postoperative Pain Management After Dental Implant Sur · Phase 3 · recruiting
- NCT07496086 — External Oblique Intercostal Block Versus Transversus Abdominis Plane Combined With Rectus Sheath Block on Postoperative · NA · recruiting
- NCT07396545 — External Oblique Intercostal Block Versus Erector Spinae Plane Block on Postoperative Pain in Laparoscopic Radical Gastr · NA · recruiting
Other Radboud University Medical Center trials
Trials by the same sponsor.
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- NCT07530263 — Deposition of Inhaled Liposomal Amphotericin B in Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis (CPA) · Phase 1 · not yet recruiting
- NCT07532577 — Intranasal Insulin to Prevent Intensive Care Unit Delirium · Phase 2, PHASE3 · not yet recruiting
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Verify against primary sources
- ClinicalTrials.gov — authoritative US registry record
- WHO ICTRP — international registry index
- EU Clinical Trials Register
- Sponsor press releases (Google)
- Trial protocol + status: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03354572 (US National Library of Medicine, public domain)
- Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
- Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
- Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by Radboud University Medical Center
- Last refreshed: 13 August 2019
Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT03354572.
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