NCT06859892

Dexmedetomidine-Esketamine Combination and Sleep Disturbances After Major Noncardiac Surgery

Effect of Dexmedetomidine-esketamine Combination on Sleep Disturbances After Major Noncardiac Surgery: a Single-center, Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 4
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 476 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Peking University First Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Sleep disturbances are common early after major surgery, and are associated with delayed recovery. A previous study showed that dexmedetomidine-esketamine combination as a supplement to patient-controlled intravenous analgesia improved postoperative analgesia and subjective sleep quality in patients after scoliosis correction surgery. The purpose of this trial is to test the hypothesis that dexmedetomidine-esketamine combination used as a supplement during general anesthesia and postoperative intravenous analgesia may reduce sleep disturbances in adult after major noncardiac surgery.

Detailed description

Sleep disturbances after surgery is usually manifested as sleep deprivation, altered circadian rhythm, and disturbed sleep structure. The reported incidence of sleep disturbances was 31.4% after gynecologic surgery, 31.9% after urologic surgery, and 35.9% after spine surgery. The occurrence of sleep disturbances is associated with worse perioperative outcomes, including aggravated pain intensity, increased delirium, higher risk of cardiovascular events, and delayed hospital discharge. Dexmedetomidine is a high-specific alpha 2-adrenergic agonist with anxiolytic, sedative, and analgesic effects. When used during general anesthesia and for postoperative analgesia, dexmedetomidine is associated with improved analgesia and sleep quality. The effect of dexmedetomidine is dose-dependent. However, even commonly used dosage increases bradycardia and hypotension. Ketamine is a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. Esketamine is the S-enantiomer of racemic ketamine with a higher affinity for NMDA receptors and is approximately twice as potent as racemic ketamine in analgesia. When used during general anesthesia and for postoperative analgesia, esketamine improves analgesia and reduces opioid consumption, but psychiatric symptoms may occur. The sedative effect of dexmedetomidine is helpful to relieve psychiatric side effects of ketamine/esketamine. A previous study showed that dexmedetomidine-esketamine combination as a supplement to patient-controlled intravenous analgesia improved postoperative analgesia and subjective sleep quality in patients after scoliosis correction surgery. This trial is designed to test the hypothesis that dexmedetomidine-esketamine combination used as a supplement during general anesthesia and postoperative intravenous analgesia may reduce sleep disturbances in adult after major noncardiac surgery.

Conditions

• Adults
• Major Noncardiac Surgery
• Dexmedetomidine
• Esketamine
• Postoperative Sleep Disturbances

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Dexmedetomidine-esketamine combination	Dexmedetomidine 0.4 μg/kg and esketamine 0.2 mg/kg is infused over 10 minutes before anesthesia induction. Dexmedetomidine 0.20 μg/kg/h and esketamine 0.10 mg/kg/h is then infused until 60 minutes before the expected end of surgery. Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia is established with 100 μg dexmedetomidine, 50 mg esketamine, and 100 μg sufentanil, diluted to 100 mL with normal saline, and programmed to deliver 2-mL boluses with a lock-out interval of 8 minutes and background infusion rate at 1 mL/h for up to 72 hours after surgery.
DRUG	Placebo	Placebo (normal saline) is administered in the same rate and volume as that in the dexmedetomidine-esketamine group. Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia is established with 100 μg sufentanil, diluted to 100 mL with normal saline, and programmed to deliver 2-mL boluses with a lock-out interval of 8 minutes and background infusion rate at 1 mL/h for up to 72 hours after surgery.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-03-18
• Primary completion: 2026-11-01
• Completion: 2026-12-01
• First posted: 2025-03-05
• Last updated: 2025-03-19

Locations

1 site across 1 country: China