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Brain chemical orexin may hold key to preventing post-surgery confusion in elderly

NCT ID NCT07726875

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Ruijin Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only This study
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Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
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Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
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Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

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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

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Status unknown
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First seen Jul 24, 2026 · Last updated Aug 19, 2026 · Updated 2 times

Summary

This study investigates whether levels of orexin, a brain chemical that helps regulate wakefulness, can predict emergence delirium—a state of confusion and agitation—when elderly patients wake up from general anesthesia. Researchers will measure orexin in the blood of 150 patients aged 60 and older during recovery from non-cardiac surgery. The goal is to see if low orexin levels are linked to a higher risk of delirium, which could one day lead to a simple diagnostic test.

What this could mean

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

What this could lead to
If orexin levels prove to be a reliable marker, it could lead to a simple blood test to predict and prevent delirium after surgery in older adults.
What could go wrong
This is an early observational study, not a treatment trial. It only looks for a correlation, so it may not find a strong enough link to be useful in practice.

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.

Participants

About 150 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Mar 2026

Expected to finish

Feb 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

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.

Who is studied

elderly patients undergoing general anesthesia

Ages

60 years and older

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: 1. Age is greater than or equal to 60 years old 2. It is planned to undergo elective non-cardiac surgery under general anesthesia, with the expected operation duration being greater than or equal to 2 hours 3. ASA I-III Exclusion Criteria: 1. There was a clear diagnosis of mental illness before the surgery (such as schizophrenia, severe depression, etc.) or the patient had been using antidepressants or anti-psychotic drugs for a long time. 2. Preoperative presence of sleep-wake disorder-related diseases (such as narcolepsy, untreated moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, etc.) or long-term use of orexin receptor antagonists or agonists 3. Preoperatively, there was severe liver dysfunction (Child-Pugh grade B or C), severe renal dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate eGFR \< 30 ml/min/1.73㎡), and severe anemia (Hb \< 80 g/L) 4. Perform deep sedation for extubation, plan to transfer to the ICU, or experience severe complications during the recovery period (such as anaphylactic shock, laryngospasm, etc.) 5. There are cases where individuals have severe visual or hearing impairments, or are aphasic, and thus are unable to cooperate in completing the cognitive assessment. 6. Having a history of alcohol abuse or drug addiction 7. Emergency surgery, neurosurgery surgery 8. The researchers considered it inappropriate to include in this study

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Emergence Delirium

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Emergence delirium, anesthesia

How to take part

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  1. The places running it

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  2. The official record

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Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

    Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200025, China

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