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Can a common sedative prevent Post-Surgery delirium in elderly cancer patients?

NCT ID NCT03012984

Symptom relief Sponsor: Peking University First Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study looked at whether adding dexmedetomidine to standard morphine pain relief after cancer surgery could lower the chance of delirium (sudden confusion) in patients aged 65 and older. A total of 1500 participants were randomly assigned to receive either morphine alone or morphine plus dexmedetomidine for three days after surgery. The main goal was to see if the combination reduced delirium within the first five days after the operation.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
dexmedetomidine
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer a simple way to lower the risk of confusion and delirium after cancer surgery in older adults.
What could go wrong
This is a completed trial, but results are not yet widely confirmed. The effect may be small or not apply to all patients. Dexmedetomidine can cause low blood pressure or slow heart rate.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

1,500 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Jan 2017

Finished

Jun 2022

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

65 to 90 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age \>= 65 years, \< 90 years; * Scheduled to undergo curative resection for primary solid organ cancer under general anesthesia, with an expected duration of surgery \>=2 hours; * Planned to use patient-controlled intravenous analgesia after surgery; * Provide written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Preoperative history of schizophrenia, epilepsy, parkinsonism or myasthenia gravis; * Preoperative radio- or chemotherapy; * Inability to communicate in the preoperative period because of coma, profound dementia or language barrier; * Preoperative obstructive sleep apnea (previously diagnosed as obstructive sleep apnea, or a STOP-Bang score \>= 3 and serum HCO3- \>= 28 mmol/L); * Brain trauma or neurosurgery; * Preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction \< 30%, sick sinus syndrome, severe sinus bradycardia (\< 50 beats per minute), or second-degree or above atrioventricular block without pacemaker; * Severe hepatic dysfunction (Child-Pugh class C) or severe renal dysfunction (requirement of renal replacement therapy before surgery); * ASA classification \>= IV.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

agnosia delirium pain agnosia Postoperative Complications

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Analgesia Complication postoperative Delirium Dexmedetomidine Elderly Surgery

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University

    Baoding, Hebei, 050031, China

  • Chongqing University Fuling Hospital

    Chongqing, Chongqing Municipality, 408099, China

  • Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital

    Guiyang, Guizhou, 550002, China

  • Peking University First Hospital

    Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100034, China

  • Peking University International Hospital

    Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 102206, China

  • Qingdao Municipal Hospital

    Qingdao, Shandong, 266011, China

  • Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital

    Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030013, China

  • The Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University

    Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710038, China

  • The Third Central Hospital of Tianjin

    Tianjin, Tianjin Municipality, 300170, China

  • The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University

    Changsha, Hunan, 410013, China

  • Tianjin Hospital of ITCWM-Nankai Hospital

    Tianjin, Tianjin Municipality, 300100, China

  • Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

    Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100091, China

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