Impact of Esketamine on Delayed Neurocognitive Recovery in Older Patients
1 other identifier
interventional
120
1 country
2
Brief Summary
Esketamine is frequently used during the perioperative period for supplemental analgesia. Small sample size trials showed that subanesthetic dose esketamine may decrease postoperative neurocognitive complications. However, conflicting results exist and optimal dose of esketamine remains to be determined. This dose-exploring pilot trial is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of three different perioperative esketamine dosing regimens in older patients undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. The primary purpose is to explore the optimal dosing strategy that produce maximal neurocognitive benefits with minimal adverse neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for phase_4
Started Apr 2026
Shorter than P25 for phase_4
2 active sites
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 Start
First participant enrolled
April 1, 2026
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
April 4, 2026
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
April 13, 2026
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
December 1, 2026
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
December 1, 2026
April 14, 2026
April 1, 2026
8 months
April 4, 2026
April 9, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Incidence of dissociative symptoms
Dissociative symptoms will be assessed at 30 minutes after extubation and then twice daily (8:00-10:00, 18:00-20:00) during the first 4 days after surgery, using the 6-item Clinician Administered Dissociative State Scale (CADSS-6; scores range frrom 0 to 24 with higher scores indicating more severe dissociative symptoms; a score \>=3 indicates presence of dissociative symptoms).
Up to 4 days after surgery
Secondary Outcomes (3)
Incidence of emergence delirium
At 30 minutes after extubation
Incidence of postoperative delirium
Up to 4 days after surgery
Incidence of delayed neurocognitive recovery
Up to 5 days after surgery
Other Outcomes (8)
Area under curve of dissociative symptom severity at various timepoints after surgery
Up to 4 days after surgery
Area under curve of pain intensity at various timeoints after surgery
Up to 4 days after surgery
Scores of subjective sleep quality after surgery
Up to 4 days after surgery
- +5 more other outcomes
Study Arms (4)
Esketamine dose 1
EXPERIMENTALDuring anesthesia, a loading dose esketamine (0.5 mg/ml) 0.4 ml/kg will be infused over 30 minutes (0.1 mg/kg) after anesthesia induction, followed by a continuous infusion at 0.1 ml/kg/h (0.05 mg/kg/h) until 1 hour before the expected end of surgery. After surgery, patient-controlled intravenous analgesia will be established with esketamine (0.25 mg/ml) and sufentanil (1 ug/ml), programmed to deliver 2-ml bolus (0.5 mg esketamine) with a 8-10-minute lock-out time and a 1-ml/h (0.25 mg/h esketamine) background infusion, and used for up to 48 hours.
Esketamine dose 2
EXPERIMENTALDuring anesthesia, a loading dose esketamine (1 mg/ml) 0.4 ml/kg will be infused over 30 minutes (0.2 mg/kg) after anesthesia induction, followed by a continuous infusion at 0.1 ml/kg/h (0.1 mg/kg/h) until 1 hour before the expected end of surgery. After surgery, patient-controlled intravenous analgesia will be established with esketamine (0.5 mg/ml) and sufentanil (1 ug/ml), programmed to deliver 2-ml bolus (1 mg esketamine) with a 8-10-minute lock-out time and a 1-ml/h (0.5 mg/h esketamine) background infusion, and used for up to 48 hours.
Esketamine dose 3
EXPERIMENTALDuring anesthesia, a loading dose esketamine (1.5 mg/ml) 0.4 ml/kg will be infused over 30 minutes (0.3 mg/kg) after anesthesia induction, followed by a continuous infusion at 0.1 ml/kg/h (0.15 mg/kg/h) until 1 hour before the expected end of surgery. After surgery, patient-controlled intravenous analgesia will be established with esketamine (0.75 mg/ml) and sufentanil (1 ug/ml), programmed to deliver 2-ml bolus (1.5 mg esketamine) with a 8-10-minute lock-out time and a 1-ml/h (0.75 mg/h esketamine) background infusion, and used for up to 48 hours.
Placebo
PLACEBO COMPARATORDuring anesthesia, a loading dose placebo (normal saline) 0.4 ml/kg will be infused over 30 minutes after anesthesia induction, followed by a continuous infusion at 0.1 ml/kg/h until 1 hour before the expected end of surgery. After surgery, patient-controlled intravenous analgesia will be established with sufentanil (1 ug/ml), programmed to deliver 2-ml bolus with a 8-10-minute lock-out time and a 1-ml/h background infusion, and used for up to 48 hours.
Interventions
During anesthesia, a loading dose placebo (normal saline) 0.4 ml/kg will be infused over 30 minutes after anesthesia induction, followed by a continuous infusion at 0.1 ml/kg/h until 1 hour before the expected end of surgery. After surgery, patient-controlled intravenous analgesia will be established with sufentanil (1 ug/ml), programmed to deliver 2-ml bolus with a 8-10-minute lock-out time and a 1-ml/h background infusion, and used for up to 48 hours.
During anesthesia, a loading dose esketamine (0.5 mg/ml) 0.4 ml/kg will be infused over 30 minutes (0.1 mg/kg) after anesthesia induction, followed by a continuous infusion at 0.1 ml/kg/h (0.05 mg/kg/h) until 1 hour before the expected end of surgery. After surgery, patient-controlled intravenous analgesia will be established with esketamine (0.25 mg/ml) and sufentanil (1 ug/ml), programmed to deliver 2-ml bolus (0.5 mg esketamine) with a 8-10-minute lock-out time and a 1-ml/h (0.25 mg/h esketamine) background infusion, and used for up to 48 hours.
During anesthesia, a loading dose esketamine (1.0 mg/ml) 0.4 ml/kg will be infused over 30 minutes (0.2 mg/kg) after anesthesia induction, followed by a continuous infusion at 0.1 ml/kg/h (0.1 mg/kg/h) until 1 hour before the expected end of surgery. After surgery, patient-controlled intravenous analgesia will be established with esketamine (0.5 mg/ml) and sufentanil (1 ug/ml), programmed to deliver 2-ml bolus (1 mg esketamine) with a 8-10-minute lock-out time and a 1-ml/h (0.5 mg/h esketamine) background infusion, and used for up to 48 hours.
During anesthesia, a loading dose esketamine (1.5 mg/ml) 0.4 ml/kg will be infused over 30 minutes (0.3 mg/kg) after anesthesia induction, followed by a continuous infusion at 0.1 ml/kg/h (0.15 mg/kg/h) until 1 hour before the expected end of surgery. After surgery, patient-controlled intravenous analgesia will be established with esketamine (0.75 mg/ml) and sufentanil (1 ug/ml), programmed to deliver 2-ml bolus (1.5 mg esketamine) with a 8-10-minute lock-out time and a 1-ml/h (0.75 mg/h esketamine) background infusion, and used for up to 48 hours.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Aged \>=65 but \<= 90 years;
- Scheduled to undergo non-cardiac surgery with an expected duration of \>= 2 hours under general anesthesia;
- Requiring patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) after surgery.
You may not qualify if:
- Unable to communicate preoperatively due to visual or auditory impairment, language barrier, or severe dementia;
- Comorbid with schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, or myasthenia gravis;
- Traumatic brain injury or neurosurgery;
- Severe hepatic dysfunction (Child-Pugh Class C), severe renal dysfunction (receiving dialysis preoperatively), or American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification \>= â…£;
- Expected admission to the Intensive Care Unit with endotracheal intubation after surgery;
- Anaphylaxis to esketamine;
- Participation in other clinical studies, or any other conditions that are considered unsuitable to be involved in the study.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (2)
Peking University First Hospital
Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100034, China
Tianjin Medical University General Hospital
Tanjing, Tianjing, 300052, China
Related Publications (38)
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MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dong-Xin Wang, MD, PhD
Peking University First Hospital
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- phase 4
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- QUADRUPLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Professor and Chairman, Department of Anaesthesiology
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
April 4, 2026
First Posted
April 13, 2026
Study Start
April 1, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
December 1, 2026
Study Completion (Estimated)
December 1, 2026
Last Updated
April 14, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-04
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share