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Mini-dose Dexmedetomidine-Esketamine Supplemented Analgesia in Patients at High-risk of OSA

Mini-dose Dexmedetomidine-Esketamine Supplemented Analgesia for Postoperative Sleep Promotion in Patients at High-risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06566482
Enrollment
100
Registered
2024-08-22
Start date
2024-09-11
Completion date
2025-08-30
Last updated
2026-09-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Dexmedetomidine, Esketamine, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Postoperative Sleep Quality, Surgery

Keywords

Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Surgery, Dexmedetomidine, Esketamine, Postoperative sleep quality

Brief summary

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at increased risk of developing sleep disturbances after surgery. Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective α2-adrenergic agonist with sedative, analgesic, and anxiolytic effects. Ketamine is a noncompetitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. Esketamine is the S-enantiomer of racemic ketamine and twice as potent as racemic ketamine for analgesia. A recent trial showed that mini-dose esketamine-dexmedetomidine in combination with opioids improved analgesia and subjective sleep quality after scoliosis correction surgery. This trial is designed to test the hypothesis that mini-dose dexmedetomidine-esketamine supplemented analgesia may improve postoperative sleep quality in patients at high-risk of OSA.

Detailed description

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by repetitive narrowing or obstruction of the upper airway during sleep, resulting in recurrent hypoxemia and hypercapnia and disordered sleep. During the postoperative period, the residual effects of anesthetics, sedatives, analgesics, and muscle relaxants suppress the activation of airway muscles; surgical stress, pain, and environmental interference further deteriorate sleep quality. All these factors aggravate the pathophysiological changes in OSA patients and may lead to worse perioperative outcomes, including increased respiratory and cardiac events, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and delirium, as well as prolonged length of hospital stay. Opioids are commonly used for postoperative analgesia. Patients with OSA have significantly increased sensitivity to the side effects of opioids, such as central respiratory depression (reduced central respiratory drive) and peripheral respiratory depression (airway collapse). Opioids themselves can also cause sleep disturbances, as manifested by sleep fragmentation, decreased rapid-eye-movement sleep, and frequent nightmares. On the other hand, sleep deprivations can also lead to increased pain sensitivity and thus opioid consumption. Therefore, it is important to explore better postoperative analgesia to improve postoperative sleep quality of patients at high-risk of OSA. Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective α2-adrenergic agonist with sedative, analgesic, and anxiolytic effects. It produces sedation by activating the endogenous sleep-promoting pathway and produces a state resembling nonrapid eye movement sleep. Ketamine is a noncompetitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. When given in sub-anaesthetic doses, ketamine produces analgesic and anti-hyperalgesic effects and is recommended as a component of multimodal analgesia. Esketamine is the S-enantiomer of racemic ketamine and approximately twice as potent as racemic ketamine for analgesia. A recent trial showed that mini-dose esketamine-dexmedetomidine in combination with opioids improved analgesia and subjective sleep quality after scoliosis correction surgery. This trial is designed to test the hypothesis that mini-dose dexmedetomidine-esketamine supplemented analgesia may improve sleep quality in patients at high-risk of OSA after thoracic or abdominal surgery.

Interventions

Patient-controlled analgesia is established with dexmedetomidine (1 μg/ml), esketamine (1 mg/ml), and sufentanil (1 μg/ml) in a total volume of 100 ml. The pump is programmed to deliver 2-ml boluses at 6 to 8-minute lockout intervals with a background infusion rate at 1 ml/h. Patient-controlled analgesia is provided for at least 24 hours but no more than 48 hours after surgery.

DRUGPlacebo

Patient-controlled analgesia is established with sufentanil (1 μg/ml) in a total volume of 100 ml. The pump is programmed to deliver 2-ml boluses at 6 to 8-minute lockout intervals with a background infusion rate at 1 ml/h. Patient-controlled analgesia is provided for at least 24 hours but no more than 48 hours after surgery.

Sponsors

Peking University First Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Aged ≥18 years but ≤80 years; 2. Preoperative diagnosis of OSA, or judged to be at moderate-to-high risk of OSA according to the STOP-Bang Questionnaire; 3. Scheduled to undergo thoracoscopic or laparoscopic surgery under general anesthesia, with an expected surgical duration of ≥1 hours, and required patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) after surgery.

Exclusion criteria

1. Diagnosed as central sleep apnea syndrome; 2. Previous history of schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson disease, or myasthenia gravis. 3. History of schizophrenia, or having antipsychotic drugs (including antidepressants or anxiolytics); 4. Inability to communicate in the preoperative period because of coma, profound dementia, or deafness; 5. History of drug or alcohol dependence, or sedative or hypnotic therapy within 1 month before surgery; 6. Contraindications to ketamine (such as hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma, or glaucoma); 7. Sick sinus syndrome, severe sinus bradycardia (\<50 beats per minute), or second-degree or above atrioventricular block without pacemaker; 8. Contraindications to high-flow nasal cannula therapy (such as mediastinal emphysema, shock or hypotension, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, nasosinusitis, otitis media, or deviation of nasal septum); 9. Severe hepatic dysfunction (Child-Pugh class C), severe renal dysfunction (requirement of renal replacement therapy), severe heart dysfunction (preoperative New York Heart Association functional classification ≥3 or left ventricular ejection fraction \<30%), or ASA classification IV or above; 10. Expected intensive care unit (ICU) admission with tracheal intubation after surgery; 11. Other conditions that are considered unsuitable for study participation.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Subjective sleep quality during the first night after surgery.During the first night after surgery.Subjective sleep quality is assessed with the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ). The RCSQ is a self-reported measure of subjective sleep quality with 5 items, including sleep depth, sleep latency, awakening, return to sleep, and overall sleep quality; the score of each item ranges from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating better sleep.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Sleep structure parameters during the first night after surgery.During the first night after surgerySleep structure is monitored with a polysomnograph from 9:00 pm on the night of surgery to 6:00 am the next morning. Sleep stages and respiratory events are scored according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) manual by qualified sleep physicians.
Cumulative subjective sleep quality score after surgeryDuring the first three nights after surgery.Subjective sleep quality is assessed with the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ). The RCSQ is a self-reported measure of subjective sleep quality with 5 items, including sleep depth, sleep latency, awakening, return to sleep, and overall sleep quality; the score of each item ranges from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating better sleep.
Proportion of patients with poor sleep quality after surgery.During the first three nights after surgery.Subjective sleep quality is assessed with the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ). Poor sleep quality is defined as overall RCSQ\<50 on any night after surgery.
Area under curve of pain intensity score within 3 days after surgery.Up to 3 days after surgery.Pain intensity is assessed twice daily (8-10 am and 18-20 pm) with the numeric rating scale (NRS), an 11-point scale where 0=no pain and 10=the worst pain.
Subjective sleep quality at 30 days after surgery.At 30 days after surgery.Subjective sleep quality is assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI; score ranges from 0 to 21, with higher score indicating worse sleep quality).

Countries

China

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDong-Xin Wang, M.D.

Peking University First Hospital

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Sep 5, 2026