NCT07244575

Brief Summary

The aim of this observational study is to investigate the potential effects of metformin on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia. The primary research question is: Does preoperative metformin exposure influence the incidence or severity of PONV in patients undergoing general anesthesia? Patients who are already prescribed metformin as part of their routine medical management will be compared with those not taking metformin. Data on PONV occurrence, severity, and recovery outcomes will be collected through structured postoperative surveys administered after surgery.

Trial Health

77
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
909

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for all trials

Timeline
92mo left

Started Dec 2025

Longer than P75 for all trials

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress6%
Dec 2025Dec 2033

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

November 17, 2025

Completed
7 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

November 24, 2025

Completed
7 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

December 1, 2025

Completed
3.1 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 31, 2028

Expected
5 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

December 31, 2033

Last Updated

February 9, 2026

Status Verified

February 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

3.1 years

First QC Date

November 17, 2025

Last Update Submit

February 5, 2026

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • The incidence of PONV during 0-120 postoperative hours

    PONV is defined as the occurrence of any of the following symptoms: nausea, retching, or vomiting

    During 0-120 hour after surgery

Secondary Outcomes (9)

  • The incidence PONV during 0-24 hour after surgery

    During 0-24 hour after surgery

  • The incidence PONV during 24-120 hour after surgery

    During 24-120 hour after surgery

  • The total severity of PONV during 0-120 hour after surgery

    During 0-120 hour after surgery

  • The severity of PONV during 0-24 hour after surgery

    During 0-24 hour after surgery

  • The severity of PONV during 24-120 hour after surgery

    During 24-120 hour after surgery

  • +4 more secondary outcomes

Other Outcomes (5)

  • Quality of recovery at 30-day after surgery

    At 30-day after surgery

  • Incidence and grade of major postoperative complications

    During 30 day after surgery

  • PONV-related factors in the blood or urine.

    from preoperative to postoperative

  • +2 more other outcomes

Study Arms (2)

Exposure group

Patients are already prescribed metformin before surgery

The non-exposure group

Patients are not prescribed metformin before surgery

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
Sampling MethodNon-Probability Sample
Study Population

Patients scheduled for surgery under general anesthesia with tracheal intubation

You may qualify if:

  • Voluntarily sign the informed consent form;
  • Age ≥ 18 years;
  • Patients who require surgical treatment under endotracheal intubation with general anesthesia as determined by the treating physician.

You may not qualify if:

  • Emergency surgery;
  • Currently taking medications with established antiemetic effects (e.g., corticosteroids, antipsychotics) due to underlying medical conditions;
  • Cognitive impairment or psychiatric disorders that preclude cooperation with questionnaire assessments;
  • Anticipated inability to extubate the tracheal tube postoperatively, which would interfere with outcome assessment;
  • Presence of nausea and/or vomiting prior to surgery.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University

Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510655, China

RECRUITING

Related Publications (15)

  • Kincaid JWR, Rimmington D, Tadross JA, Cimino I, Zvetkova I, Kaser A, Richards P, Patel S, O'Rahilly S, Coll AP. The gastrointestinal tract is a major source of the acute metformin-stimulated rise in GDF15. Sci Rep. 2024 Jan 22;14(1):1899. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-51866-2.

    PMID: 38253650BACKGROUND
  • Bootcov MR, Bauskin AR, Valenzuela SM, Moore AG, Bansal M, He XY, Zhang HP, Donnellan M, Mahler S, Pryor K, Walsh BJ, Nicholson RC, Fairlie WD, Por SB, Robbins JM, Breit SN. MIC-1, a novel macrophage inhibitory cytokine, is a divergent member of the TGF-beta superfamily. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1997 Oct 14;94(21):11514-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.21.11514.

    PMID: 9326641BACKGROUND
  • Al-Kuraishy HM, Al-Gareeb AI, Alexiou A, Papadakis M, Nadwa EH, Albogami SM, Alorabi M, Saad HM, Batiha GE. Metformin and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A hidden treasure. J Diabetes. 2022 Dec;14(12):806-814. doi: 10.1111/1753-0407.13334. Epub 2022 Nov 28.

    PMID: 36444166BACKGROUND
  • Bu XS, Zhang J, Zuo YX. Validation of the Chinese Version of the Quality of Recovery-15 Score and Its Comparison with the Post-Operative Quality Recovery Scale. Patient. 2016 Jun;9(3):251-9. doi: 10.1007/s40271-015-0148-6.

    PMID: 26518201BACKGROUND
  • Myles PS, Wengritzky R. Simplified postoperative nausea and vomiting impact scale for audit and post-discharge review. Br J Anaesth. 2012 Mar;108(3):423-9. doi: 10.1093/bja/aer505. Epub 2012 Jan 29.

    PMID: 22290456BACKGROUND
  • Apfel CC, Laara E, Koivuranta M, Greim CA, Roewer N. A simplified risk score for predicting postoperative nausea and vomiting: conclusions from cross-validations between two centers. Anesthesiology. 1999 Sep;91(3):693-700. doi: 10.1097/00000542-199909000-00022.

    PMID: 10485781BACKGROUND
  • Sharma N, MacGibbon KW, Brecht-Doscher A, Cortessis VK, Fejzo MS. Prepregnancy metformin use associated with lower risk of severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and hyperemesis gravidarum. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2025 Dec;233(6):649.e1-649.e14. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2025.06.055. Epub 2025 Jun 28.

    PMID: 40588059BACKGROUND
  • Sillis L, Heinonen EW, Ceulemans M, Johnson D, Luo Y, Chambers CD. Metformin for the Prevention of Hyperemesis Gravidarum: An Observational Cohort Study. BJOG. 2025 Nov;132(12):1772-1778. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.18238. Epub 2025 May 29.

    PMID: 40443168BACKGROUND
  • Day EA, Ford RJ, Smith BK, Mohammadi-Shemirani P, Morrow MR, Gutgesell RM, Lu R, Raphenya AR, Kabiri M, McArthur AG, McInnes N, Hess S, Pare G, Gerstein HC, Steinberg GR. Metformin-induced increases in GDF15 are important for suppressing appetite and promoting weight loss. Nat Metab. 2019 Dec;1(12):1202-1208. doi: 10.1038/s42255-019-0146-4. Epub 2019 Dec 9.

    PMID: 32694673BACKGROUND
  • Mai Y, Zhang S, Huang Q, Liang C, Shi J, Zheng J, Lv K, Liu H, Yang X, Zhao Y. Association between plasma growth differentiation factor-15 and postoperative nausea and vomiting incidence and severity: a secondary analysis of a randomised trial. Br J Anaesth. 2025 Aug;135(2):459-468. doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2025.05.001. Epub 2025 May 29.

    PMID: 40441987BACKGROUND
  • Hsu JY, Crawley S, Chen M, Ayupova DA, Lindhout DA, Higbee J, Kutach A, Joo W, Gao Z, Fu D, To C, Mondal K, Li B, Kekatpure A, Wang M, Laird T, Horner G, Chan J, McEntee M, Lopez M, Lakshminarasimhan D, White A, Wang SP, Yao J, Yie J, Matern H, Solloway M, Haldankar R, Parsons T, Tang J, Shen WD, Alice Chen Y, Tian H, Allan BB. Non-homeostatic body weight regulation through a brainstem-restricted receptor for GDF15. Nature. 2017 Oct 12;550(7675):255-259. doi: 10.1038/nature24042. Epub 2017 Sep 27.

    PMID: 28953886BACKGROUND
  • Cheng W, Gordian D, Ludwig MQ, Pers TH, Seeley RJ, Myers MG Jr. Hindbrain circuits in the control of eating behaviour and energy balance. Nat Metab. 2022 Jul;4(7):826-835. doi: 10.1038/s42255-022-00606-9. Epub 2022 Jul 25.

    PMID: 35879458BACKGROUND
  • Borner T, Tinsley IC, Milliken BT, Doebley SA, Najjar NR, Kerwood DJ, De Jonghe BC, Hayes MR, Doyle RP. Creation of a Peptide Antagonist of the GFRAL-RET Receptor Complex for the Treatment of GDF15-Induced Malaise. J Med Chem. 2023 Aug 24;66(16):11237-11249. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00667. Epub 2023 Jul 28.

    PMID: 37506293BACKGROUND
  • Liu ZY, Yang XY, Lv C, Ye L, Chen JJ, Chen XY, Wang SP, Wu L, Zhang WQ, Lu M, Guo XW. Effect of High Maintenance Dose Versus Low Dose of Remifentanil on Incidence of Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) in Patients Under Gynecological Laparoscopic Procedure: A Pilot Study. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2025 Jun 7;19:4885-4894. doi: 10.2147/DDDT.S518291. eCollection 2025.

    PMID: 40502550BACKGROUND
  • Zhang Q, Ye X, Shi S, Zhou S, Ma D, Ouyang W, Tong J, Le Y. Pyridoxine Prevents Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Gynecologic Laparoscopic Surgery: A Double-blind Randomized Controlled Trial. Anesthesiology. 2025 Apr 1;142(4):655-665. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000005354. Epub 2024 Dec 27.

    PMID: 39729294BACKGROUND

Biospecimen

Retention: SAMPLES WITH DNA

blood samples and urine samples

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Postoperative ComplicationsPathologic ProcessesPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsNauseaSigns and Symptoms, DigestiveSigns and SymptomsVomiting

Study Officials

  • Yang Zhao, Dr

    The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Study Design

Study Type
observational
Observational Model
COHORT
Time Perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Dr

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

November 17, 2025

First Posted

November 24, 2025

Study Start

December 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2033

Last Updated

February 9, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

only IPD used in the results publication

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
Time Frame
The data will become available after the manuscript is published.
Access Criteria
The request for the analytic code shall be sent to Prof. Yang Zhao, Email-address: zhaoy47@mail.sysu.edu.cn

Locations