Clinical Research Directory

Lemborexant on Perioperative Sleep Quality in Patients Undergoing Thoracoscopic Surgery

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is the mainstream minimally invasive procedure in thoracic surgery; However, the high-stress state during the perioperative period and severe postoperative pain often lead to significant disruption of patients' sleep patterns, thereby exacerbating postoperative pain sensitisation and delaying early recovery. Traditional sleep-inducing drugs, primarily benzodiazepines, have significant limitations in the perioperative period of thoracic surgery, including respiratory depression, dizziness and residual central effects, which hinder early ambulation. As a new-generation dual orexin receptor antagonist, Lemborexant exerts its sleep-promoting and anti-stress effects by precisely blocking excessive arousal pathways. Furthermore, it causes no respiratory depression, no hangover-like effects the following day, and does not impair muscle strength or mucus clearance, offering the potential to meet the dual requirements of sleep quality and high safety in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols for thoracic surgery. However, there remains a lack of prospective clinical evidence regarding its application in the high-stress, high-pain perioperative acute cohort of thoracoscopic surgery. This study aims to conduct a prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to improve perioperative sleep quality in VATS patients. The primary outcome measure of the study was the difference in the incidence of perioperative sleep disorders (PSD) between the two groups, as assessed by the total Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire (RCSQ) score on the night of surgery. The study aims to investigate the causal relationship between short-term perioperative Lemborexant intervention and improvements in patient sleep and postoperative recovery quality. The anticipated results will provide clinical evidence of the safety and efficacy of Lemborexant for use in high-stress populations during the perioperative period.

Video-guided Versus Conventional Right-sided Double-Lumen Tubes for One-Lung Ventilation in Thoracoscopic Surgery

This multicentre randomised controlled trial compares a video-guided right-sided double-lumen tube with a conventional right-sided double-lumen tube in adults undergoing elective thoracoscopic surgery requiring one-lung ventilation. The video-guided tube incorporates an integrated camera that provides continuous airway visualisation during initial placement and intraoperative monitoring. Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive one of the two tubes. Final tube position after initial placement will be confirmed by fibreoptic bronchoscopy in both groups. During one-lung ventilation, additional fibreoptic bronchoscopy will be performed only when clinically indicated or according to predefined rescue criteria. The primary outcome is successful initial right-sided double-lumen tube placement. Secondary outcomes include right upper-lobe bronchial obstruction, intraoperative tube displacement, hypoxemia during one-lung ventilation, requirement for rescue fibreoptic bronchoscopy, time to satisfactory tube positioning, quality of operative lung collapse, and the number of intraoperative tube repositioning events. Participants and outcome assessors will remain blinded to treatment allocation, whereas the anaesthesiologist performing intubation cannot be blinded because of the distinct visual and operational characteristics of the two devices. The study aims to determine whether continuous airway visualisation improves the effectiveness and stability of right-sided double-lumen tube management during thoracoscopic surgery.

Comparative Effects of Remimazolam Tosylate and Dexmedetomidine on Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients Undergoing Thoracoscopic Surgery.

Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common acute brain dysfunction in the perioperative period, characterized by acute fluctuations in attention, consciousness, and cognition, typically occurring early after surgery. POD is closely associated with prolonged hospital stay, increased complications, delayed recovery, and higher mortality . POD has multifactorial risk factors spanning preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases. Its pathophysiology involves neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, blood-brain barrier dysfunction, and neurotransmitter imbalance . Advanced age, baseline cognitive impairment, infection, and malnutrition increase POD risk . Intraoperative hypotension, benzodiazepine exposure, and other anesthetic factors may also contribute . Elderly patients have higher anesthesia risk due to age-related physiological decline. Cardiovascular reserve decreases with age, causing hemodynamic instability, especially during one-lung ventilation in thoracoscopic surgery . Among patients over 70 undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy, 35.7% develop pulmonary complications; ASA grade ≥III, one-lung ventilation time, smoking history, and COPD are independent risk factors . Additionally, reduced hepatic and renal function slow anesthetic metabolism, increasing drug accumulation and delayed emergence . Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) offers reduced trauma, faster recovery, and lower complication rates compared to open surgery . VATS shows clinical value in lung cancer and mediastinal tumors . Uniportal VATS allows faster recovery of pulmonary function (VC, FVC, TLC) and lower inflammatory markers (CRP, PCT, TNF-α) . However, caution is needed in elderly patients . Despite reduced surgical trauma, elderly VATS patients may still develop POD. Anesthetic drugs, surgical stress, poor pain management, and neuroinflammation are key contributing factors . Therefore, optimizing perioperative anesthesia, maintaining hemodynamic stability, and reducing unnecessary sedative-analgesic loads are important strategies to lower POD risk. Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective α2-adrenergic receptor agonist with advantages in sedation, analgesia, and neuroprotection . It activates central α2-receptors, causing hyperpolarization of noradrenergic neurons and reducing norepinephrine release, producing sympatholytic effects without significant respiratory depression . It also has anti-inflammatory properties that may help prevent POD . Perioperative dexmedetomidine may reduce POD risk by alleviating stress, improving sleep-like sedation, and reducing opioid requirements . However, it can cause hypotension and bradycardia, requiring careful dosing in elderly patients . Remimazolam tosilate is a newer ultra-short-acting benzodiazepine with rapid onset, fast metabolism, and mild circulatory depression. Its potential advantages in elderly and hemodynamically compromised patients are increasingly recognized, but its effect on POD remains inconclusive. In summary, elderly VATS patients are at high risk for POD. Dexmedetomidine has preventive evidence but is limited by hypotension and bradycardia. Remimazolam may offer a smoother sedation alternative, but direct comparative evidence is lacking. This study aims to compare remimazolam versus dexmedetomidine on POD and perioperative recovery, providing evidence for individualized anesthesia management in elderly VATS patients.

Tubeless Strategy for Enhanced Recovery After Sublobar Resection

This is a prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial conducted at a single center. The study aims to evaluate whether a "tubeless" strategy can enhance recovery for patients undergoing minimally invasive thoracoscopic sublobar resection (wedge or segment resection) for small lung nodules. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: * The experimental group will receive the "tubeless" strategy, which includes non-endotracheal intubation anesthesia (using a laryngeal mask) and no routine chest tube drainage after surgery. * The control group will receive the traditional strategy, which includes double-lumen endotracheal intubation anesthesia and routine chest tube drainage. The main goal is to compare the rate of achieving high-quality fast-track recovery at 24 hours after surgery between the two groups. This study will provide evidence on whether the tubeless approach can help patients recover faster and more comfortably without compromising safety.

Effects of Ciprofol on Myocardial Injury After Non-cardiac Surgery in Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery

Myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS) refers to postoperative elevation of cardiac troponin (cTn) levels caused by underlying ischemic mechanisms (i.e., coronary artery supply-demand imbalance or atherosclerotic thrombosis) without obvious non-ischemic causes (such as pulmonary embolism), with at least one cTn concentration exceeding the 99th percentile of the test reference upper limit, regardless of whether clinical symptoms and ECG changes are present. MINS, including myocardial infarction and ischemic myocardial injury, typically occurs within 30 days after surgery, most commonly within the first 2 postoperative days. It is an independent risk factor for 30-day postoperative mortality and is also closely associated with increased risk of mortality and vascular complications within 2 years . MINS is a common cardiovascular complication after thoracic surgery. Therefore, reducing the incidence of MINS in non-cardiac thoracic surgery to improve patient outcomes is a critical issue in anesthetic management for thoracic surgery. Ciprofol is a Class 1 innovative drug independently developed in China with global intellectual property rights. Currently, Ciprofol has completed Phase III clinical trials in China and the United States; its approved indications in China include sedation or anesthesia for various diagnostic procedures, general anesthesia for surgical operations, and sedation during intensive care unit (ICU) stays. Completed drug clinical trials and published clinical trial data of Ciprofol indicate that it can better maintain circulatory stability and ideal anesthetic depth during anesthesia induction and maintenance, making it a promising intravenous general anesthetic alternative to propofol. Maintaining hemodynamic stability is an important measure to reduce cardiovascular complications during the perioperative period. Given the good circulatory stability and sedative efficacy of Ciprofol, this study aims to investigate the impact of Ciprofol on MINS in non-cardiac thoracic surgery.

High-resolution PET-CT Specimen Imaging for the Perioperative Visualization of Resection Margins

These are patients in whom a benign or malignant tumor was recorded requiring surgery. During that surgery, the surgeon will cut away the tumor as part of the treatment of the disease. In this process, it is important that the tumor is removed correctly and completely. To verify that the correct tissue was completely removed, the tissue is examined microscopically. However, a microscopic analysis takes a relatively long time and the result is not known until a few days after the surgery is completed. If that microscopic analysis should eventually reveal that the tumor was not completely removed, additional treatment is usually necessary. An assessment of the excised tissue during surgery would allow additional tissue to be excised in the same operation if necessary. Thus, in this way, additional treatments can also be avoided. This could lead to shorter treatment time and less emotional strain for the patient, as well as lower costs. To date, however, there are no effective techniques to do this. PositronEmissionTomography (PET) imaging can be used to image the tumor that needs to be excised. To do this, a tracer must be administered through the blood before the operation. This tracer is a slightly radioactive substance that can be detected by the PET camera even at low concentrations. This technique is already routinely used in the hospital to detect cancer or inflammatory tissue in the body. During this study, however, it's not the intention to look at the tumor while it is still in the patient's body, but rather after it has been cut out of the patient's body by the surgeon. To do this, the piece of tissue cut away will be scanned using a specially designed PET-CT scanner. The overall goal of this study is to gain additional knowledge. More specifically, the investigators wish to determine which medical conditions may benefit from high-resolution PET-CT specimen imaging.

Investigation on the Status Quo of Hyperalgesia in Patients After Thoracoscopic Operation and Study on the Effect of Intraoperative Intervention

To explore the status quo and influencing factors of hyperpain in patients after thoracoscopic surgery, and to explore the effect of earphone sound isolation during combined operation of flurbiprofen axidate and binaural beat music played by earphone during combined operation on the intervention of hyperpain after thoracoscopic surgery.

Atomized Inhalation ICG for Treatment of Congenital Lung Malformations

To investigate the safety and effectiveness of preoperative aerosol inhalation ICG solution for thoracoscopic accurate resection of congenital lung malformations in children.