Open-label Placebo (COLP) for Pain in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) Surgery+Surgical Treatment of Idiopathic Scoliosis

NCT ID: NCT06365892

Last Updated: 2025-10-06

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

64 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-07-01

Study Completion Date

2026-01-01

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This study aims to investigate the effects of conditioning with open-label placebos on standard postoperative treatment for patients undergoing surgery for idiopathic scoliosis in a randomized controlled, 6-week trial with 64 AIS patients randomly assigned to one of two arms: Open-label Placebo (COLP) + treatment as usual TAU / TAU control. The study involves collecting data from your child's medical record. At each regular clinic visit, the patient clinical data will be collected by the research coordinator. Surveys will be collected including:• PROMIS for the age group 10 to 18 years.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Interventional (clinical trial): Subject will be randomly assigned using permuted blocks (block size of 4). Before usage, random assignments will be created, stored in sealed envelopes, and numbered (1, 2, etc.). There will be stratified randomization: Later on, stratification will be incorporated into the analysis. 32 people will be in the group taking the placebo pills in addition to standardized treatment and 32 people will be in the group with standardized treatment alone.

Hypothesis: Open-label Placebo (COLP) \< treatment as usual (TAU) control. Secondary Aims Analysis Plan: There are three secondary aims in this study.

Aim 1. To determine whether 6 weeks of Open-label Placebo (COLP) results in significantly reduced opioid consumption compared to treatment as usual. To test this aim, the investigators will conduct a t-test comparing mean opioid use over the 6 weeks of follow up. In secondary analyses, the investigators will adjust for any baseline factors including gender, age, symptom severity or type of surgery that could be a confounding variable.

1a. To determine if 6 weeks of Open-label Placebo (COLP) results in reduced opioid consumption compared to treatment as usual. Hypothesis: Open-label Placebo (COLP) \< treatment as usual (TAU) control.

Secondary Aims Analysis Plan: There are three secondary aims in this study.

Secondary Aim 1: Determine if there are significant differences in time to independence with physical therapy, length of stay, time to return to school, urinary retention, constipation, oxygen requirement, and number of contacts with medical team in Open-label Placebo (COLP) compared to treatment as usual (TAU).

Secondary Aim 2: Determine if there is an association between preoperative pain catastrophization, kinesiophobia, positive/negative affect, anxiety, and/or depression and response to Open-label Placebo (COLP) and/or treatment as usual (TAU).

Secondary Aim 3: Determine if there is an association between postoperative PROMIS scores, anxiety, and/or depression in open-label placebo (COLP) compared to treatment as usual (TAU).

Primary Objectives The primary objectives of this study are to: (1) to determine whether 6 weeks of conditioning with open-label placebo (COLP) results in reduced opioid consumption (amount and duration) compared to treatment as usual (TAU) control and (2) to determine whether 6 weeks of Open-label Placebo (COLP) compared to treatment as usual (TAU) results in different clinical outcomes.

Secondary Objectives

* To determine whether open-label placebo (COLP) affects anxiety and/or depression.
* To determine whether open-label placebo (COLP) affects length of stay, opioid side effects, time to independence with physical therapy, and/or number of contacts with medical team.
* To determine if there is an association between pain catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, and clinical outcomes.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS)

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Both arms - Open-label Placebo (COLP) and Treatment As Usual (TAU)
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Blinding of patients and providers will not be feasible due to the nature of the study.

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Open-label Placebo (COLP)

Placebo will be supplied as a 330mg tablet (manufactured by Consolidated Midland Corporation). Each oral opioid dose is a 5mg Oxycodone tablet. Patients will take placebo with each oral opioid intake and 3 additional times per day beginning on POD 1. Investigator shall never prescribe ibuprofen. Investigator shall always prescribe Tylenol 625mg every 8hrs (PRN).

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

open-label placebo

Intervention Type OTHER

Placebo will be supplied as a 330mg tablet (manufactured by Consolidated Midland Corporation). Patients will take placebo with each oral opioid intake and 3 additional times per day beginning on POD 1.

Treatment as usual

Intervention Type OTHER

Each oral opioid dose is a 5mg Oxycodone tablet. Investigator shall never prescribe ibuprofen. Investigator shall always prescribe Tylenol 625mg every 8hrs (PRN).

Treatment As Usual (TAU)

Treatment As Usual (TAU) subjects will receive equal access to opioid and non-opioid analgesics. The preferred oral opioid dose is a 5mg Oxycodone pill. Subjects will take a placebo with each oral opioid dose and additional three times per day beginning on POD 1.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Treatment as usual

Intervention Type OTHER

Each oral opioid dose is a 5mg Oxycodone tablet. Investigator shall never prescribe ibuprofen. Investigator shall always prescribe Tylenol 625mg every 8hrs (PRN).

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

open-label placebo

Placebo will be supplied as a 330mg tablet (manufactured by Consolidated Midland Corporation). Patients will take placebo with each oral opioid intake and 3 additional times per day beginning on POD 1.

Intervention Type OTHER

Treatment as usual

Each oral opioid dose is a 5mg Oxycodone tablet. Investigator shall never prescribe ibuprofen. Investigator shall always prescribe Tylenol 625mg every 8hrs (PRN).

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Inactive drug, Inactive medicine, Inactive substance, Sugar Pill Test Substance

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

1. Diagnosis of idiopathic spine deformity.
2. Age \>10 and \<18 years.
3. Primary procedure.
4. Guardian provides signed and dated informed consent and understand the nature of the study sufficiently to allow completion of all study assessments.
5. Patient provides assent.
6. Fusion and fusionless instrumented spine surgery.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Non-idiopathic scoliosis, such as neuromuscular or syndrome.
2. Revision procedure.
3. Self-reported pregnancy or planned pregnancy within the next two months.
4. Have a history of drug, excluding nicotine or caffeine, or alcohol abuse within 2 years of entry into the study
5. Already taking opioids.
6. Abnormal physical examination.
7. Inability to speak or read English
8. Patient declines participation.
Minimum Eligible Age

10 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

University of California, San Francisco

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Mohammad Diab, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of California, San Francisco

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

University of California, San Francisco

San Francisco, California, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Mohammad Diab, MD

Role: CONTACT

415-514-1519

Tripta Rughwani

Role: CONTACT

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Mohammad Diab, MD

Role: primary

415-514-1519

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Carvalho C, Caetano JM, Cunha L, Rebouta P, Kaptchuk TJ, Kirsch I. Open-label placebo treatment in chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Pain. 2016 Dec;157(12):2766-2772. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000700.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27755279 (View on PubMed)

Blease C, Colloca L, Kaptchuk TJ. Are open-Label Placebos Ethical? Informed Consent and Ethical Equivocations. Bioethics. 2016 Jul;30(6):407-14. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12245. Epub 2016 Feb 3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26840547 (View on PubMed)

von Wernsdorff M, Loef M, Tuschen-Caffier B, Schmidt S. Effects of open-label placebos in clinical trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 16;11(1):3855. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-83148-6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33594150 (View on PubMed)

Kirchhof J, Petrakova L, Brinkhoff A, Benson S, Schmidt J, Unteroberdorster M, Wilde B, Kaptchuk TJ, Witzke O, Schedlowski M. Learned immunosuppressive placebo responses in renal transplant patients. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Apr 17;115(16):4223-4227. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1720548115. Epub 2018 Apr 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29610294 (View on PubMed)

Ader R, Mercurio MG, Walton J, James D, Davis M, Ojha V, Kimball AB, Fiorentino D. Conditioned pharmacotherapeutic effects: a preliminary study. Psychosom Med. 2010 Feb;72(2):192-7. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181cbd38b. Epub 2009 Dec 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20028830 (View on PubMed)

Doering BK, Rief W. Utilizing placebo mechanisms for dose reduction in pharmacotherapy. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2012 Mar;33(3):165-72. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2011.12.001. Epub 2012 Jan 25.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 22284159 (View on PubMed)

Sandler AD, Glesne CE, Bodfish JW. Conditioned placebo dose reduction: a new treatment in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder? J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2010 Jun;31(5):369-75. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0b013e3181e121ed.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20495473 (View on PubMed)

Nurko S, Saps M, Kossowsky J, Zion SR, Di Lorenzo C, Vaz K, Hawthorne K, Wu R, Ciciora S, Rosen JM, Kaptchuk TJ, Kelley JM. Effect of Open-label Placebo on Children and Adolescents With Functional Abdominal Pain or Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2022 Apr 1;176(4):349-356. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5750.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35099543 (View on PubMed)

Flowers KM, Patton ME, Hruschak VJ, Fields KG, Schwartz E, Zeballos J, Kang JD, Edwards RR, Kaptchuk TJ, Schreiber KL. Conditioned open-label placebo for opioid reduction after spine surgery: a randomized controlled trial. Pain. 2021 Jun 1;162(6):1828-1839. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002185.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33449503 (View on PubMed)

Furie KS, James K, Kaptchuk TJ, Diab M. Effectiveness of conditioning + open-label placebo for post-operative pain management in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Pain Manag. 2025 Jul;15(7):363-371. doi: 10.1080/17581869.2025.2520148. Epub 2025 Jun 19.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40536435 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

Access external resources that provide additional context or updates about the study.

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

22-36548

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Minimal Invasive Scoliosis or Open Surgery
NCT07203586 NOT_YET_RECRUITING NA