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Propofol vs. inhaled anesthesia: which one spares your recovery?

NCT ID NCT05991453

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
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
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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 Sep 04, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026

Summary

This trial asks whether propofol given through an IV leads to a better recovery after surgery than inhaled anesthesia gases. Researchers will compare recovery quality in 13,000 adults having major or minor inpatient surgery, or outpatient procedures. They will also check whether propofol raises the risk of waking up during surgery by more than a tiny amount. The goal is to help doctors choose the anesthesia technique that best supports patient recovery.

What this could mean

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

Active substance
Propofol (intravenous anesthetic) compared with inhaled anesthetic agents
What this could lead to
If propofol-based anesthesia leads to better recovery, hospitals might adopt it more widely to improve patient comfort after surgery.
What could go wrong
The trial is large but still observational in nature regarding outcomes, and results may vary by surgery type. There is a small risk of awareness during anesthesia with either technique.

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

About 13,000 people

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

Started

Sep 2023

Expected to finish

Jul 2028

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.

Ages

18 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 Each patient must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Aged 18 years or older 2. Undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery expected to last ≥ 60 min requiring general anesthesia with a tracheal tube or laryngeal mask airway (or similar supra-glottic device) Exclusion Criteria Patients will not be enrolled if any of the following criteria are met: 1. Inability to provide informed consent in English (at all study sites) or Spanish (at sites where Spanish consent is provided as an option) 2. Pregnancy (based on patient report or positive test on the day of surgery) 3. Surgical procedure requiring general, regional, neuraxial anesthesia administered by an anesthesia clinician (anesthesiologist, CRNA, anesthesiology assistant) occurring within 30 days prior to or planned to occur within 30 days after surgery date 4. Contraindication to propofol TIVA or INVA (for example, documented allergy to propofol, history of severe postoperative nausea or vomiting, concern for or history of malignant hyperthermia) based on self-report 5. Surgical procedures requiring a specific general anesthesia technique (for example, TIVA required for neuromonitoring). 6. Locally approved, written protocol mandating a particular anesthetic technique 7. History of possible or definite intraoperative awareness during general anesthesia based on patient self-report 8. Planned postoperative intubation 9. Current incarceration

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Intraoperative Awareness Pain, Postoperative

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Anesthesia Anesthesia awareness Anesthesia complication Anesthesia morbidity Pain, postoperative Quality of life Surgery Surgery-complications

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    24 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Brigham & Women's

    RECRUITING

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

  • Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

    RECRUITING

    Lebanon, New Hampshire, 03756, United States

  • Duke University

    RECRUITING

    Durham, North Carolina, 27708, United States

  • Henry Ford Health

    RECRUITING

    Detroit, Michigan, 48202, United States

  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, United States

  • Massachusetts General Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States

  • NYU Langone

    RECRUITING

    New York, New York, 10012, United States

  • Oregon Health and Sciences University

    RECRUITING

    Portland, Oregon, 97239, United States

  • Stanford University

    NOT_YET_RECRUITING

    Stanford, California, 94305, United States

  • Temple University

    RECRUITING

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19140, United States

  • UVA Health

    RECRUITING

    Charlottesville, Virginia, 22908, United States

  • University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)

    RECRUITING

    Little Rock, Arkansas, 72205, United States

  • University of California San Francisco

    RECRUITING

    San Francisco, California, 94143, United States

  • University of Michigan

    RECRUITING

    Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States

  • University of North Carolina School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States

  • University of Pennsylvania

    NOT_YET_RECRUITING

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States

  • University of Texas - MD Anderson

    RECRUITING

    Houston, Texas, 77030, United States

  • University of Texas Southwestern

    RECRUITING

    Dallas, Texas, 75390, United States

  • University of Utah - Medical

    RECRUITING

    Salt Lake City, Utah, 84132, United States

  • University of Washington

    RECRUITING

    Seattle, Washington, 98195, United States

  • Wake Forest

    RECRUITING

    Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27109, United States

  • Washington University School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States

  • Weill Cornell Medicine

    RECRUITING

    New York, New York, 10065, United States

  • Yale School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, United States

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