Completed

Guided Meditation as an Adjunct to Enhance Postoperative Recovery: A Feasibility Study

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What is being tested

Meditation

Behavioral
Who is being recruted

Over 18 Years
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Prevention Study

Interventional
Study Start: November 2017
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorBeth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Last updated: January 13, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner
Study start date: November 28, 2017Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

This is a prospective, randomized, controlled study involving 30 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Investigators will test the feasibility of implementing a meditation program in the perioperative period. Patients will be randomized to one of three groups: those who complete Isha Kriya (IK) meditation before and after surgery, those who complete postoperative IK meditation only, and those who receive the standard of care with no meditation intervention. In addition to testing feasibility, the investigators will explore whether a meditation program can affect recovery after surgery. Patients enrolled will be followed postoperatively for up to one month to assess their cognitive function, pain, and sleep. Blood will also be collected for analysis of biomarkers of inflammation.

Official TitleGuided Meditation as an Adjunct to Enhance Postoperative Recovery: A Feasibility Study 
NCT03198039
Principal SponsorBeth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Last updated: January 13, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details
29 patients to be enrolledTotal number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.
Prevention Study
Prevention studies aim to stop a disease from developing. They often involve people at risk and test things like vaccines, lifestyle changes, or preventive medications.

How participants are assigned to different groups/arms
In this clinical study, participants are placed into groups randomly, like flipping a coin. This ensures that the study is fair and unbiased, making the results more reliable. By assigning participants by chance, researchers can better compare treatments without external influences.

Other Ways to Assign Participants
Non-randomized allocation: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.
None (Single-arm trial): If the study has only one group, all participants receive the same treatment, and no allocation is needed.

How treatments are given to participants
Participants receive different combinations of treatments to see how they work together. This approach helps researchers determine whether a combination of treatments is more effective than a single treatment alone.

Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Single-group assignment: Everyone gets the same treatment.
Parallel assignment: Participants are split into separate groups, each receiving a different treatment.
Cross-over assignment: Participants switch between treatments during the study.
Sequential assignment: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.
Other assignment: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.

How the effectiveness of the treatment is controlled
In a non placebo-controlled study, no participants receive an inert substance (placebo) to compare outcomes. Instead, all participants receive either the experimental treatment or an alternative treatment (often the Standard of Care). This method allows researchers to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of a different active intervention, rather than a placebo.

Other Options
Placebo-Controlled: A placebo is used to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of an inert substance, isolating the true treatment effect.

How the interventions assigned to participants is kept confidential
Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do. This helps prevent bias from participants' expectations while still allowing researchers to monitor the study closely.

Other Ways to Mask Information
Open-label: Everyone knows which treatment is being given.
Double-blind: Neither participants nor researchers know which treatment is given.
Triple-blind: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.
Quadruple-blind: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Criteria
Any sexBiological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.
Over 18 YearsRange of ages for which participants are eligible to join.
Healthy volunteers not allowedIf individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.
Criteria

Inclusion Criteria: 1. 18 years of age or older 2. Undergoing any of the following types of cardiac surgery: CABG with or without valve surgery (aortic and/or mitral); isolated valve surgery; isolated aortic surgery 3. Surgery scheduled for at least 14 days after enrollment Exclusion Criteria: 1. Urgent and/or emergent surgery 2. Non-English speaking 3. Cognitive impairment as defined by total MoCA score \< 10 4. Baseline DASS-21 depression score \>10 5. Pre-existing history of psychiatric illness as documented in the medical record or divulged in history taking in pre-enrollment patient interview, such as anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder 6. History of cerebrovascular accident or recent history (\< 3 months) of seizures 7. History of dementia, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, or other forms of cognitive decline 8. Current use of cognition enhancing drugs 9. Current management for chronic pain 10. Currently enrolled in another interventional study that could impact the primary outcome, as determined by the PI 11. Educational attainment below high school level or equivalent 12. Significant visual impairment

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives
2 intervention groups 

are designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups
Group I
Experimental
Meditation twice daily for at least two weeks prior to surgery and for four weeks after surgery

Isha Kriya (IK) meditation approximately 12 minutes, twice a day
Group II
Experimental
Meditation twice daily for four weeks after surgery

Isha Kriya (IK) meditation approximately 12 minutes, twice a day
Study Objectives
Primary Objectives

In this descriptive, feasibility study, evaluation of feasibility will include adherence to meditation intervention (total number of sessions completed).
Secondary Objectives

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) will be administered at baseline and hospital discharge. This is a validated test that measures cognitive impairment.

Postoperative pain will be assessed with a standard 11-point scale. Pain scores will be obtained by asking the subject.

The total opioid dosage received in the intraoperative period and the first 48 hours postoperatively will be abstracted from the medical record.

Changes in sleep will be measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) which measures quality and patterns of sleep during the past month. This will be completed at baseline and 1 month postoperatively.

Changes in sleep will be measured by the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Sleep Disturbance and Sleep Related Impairment questionnaires. The PROMIS sleep questionnaires assess self-reported perceptions of sleep quality and sleep impairment and will be completed weekly from baseline through 1 month postoperatively.

Blood will be collected at baseline and on postoperative Day 2 to investigate whether the use of a meditation regimen results in a reduction in inflammation and stress secondary to surgery. Subjects randomized to meditation before surgery will also have blood collected preoperatively. Specimens will be frozen for analysis at a later date.

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.
This study has 1 location
Suspended
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterBoston, United StatesSee the location
CompletedOne Study Center