Brain-Monitored anesthesia could cut Post-Surgery confusion in seniors
NCT ID NCT04443517
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study will test whether using EEG brain monitoring to adjust pain medicine during surgery can reduce the risk of delirium (sudden confusion) after surgery in adults aged 60 and older. Researchers plan to enroll 600 participants undergoing non-cardiac, non-head/neck surgery lasting at least 2 hours. The approach involves real-time EEG alpha power optimization and a low-dose sedative infusion near the end of surgery.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- EEG-guided analgesic titration (procedure) and dexmedetomidine infusion (drug)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple way to reduce postoperative confusion in older adults using brain monitoring.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study that hasn't started recruiting yet. It's not testing a cure, and results may not apply to all surgeries or patients.
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
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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
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About 600 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Apr 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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60 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide 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: * Adults aged 60 years or over * Has capacity to provide informed consent * Undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery, which does not involve the head or neck, with planned volatile-based general anesthesia of expected duration of at least 2 hours Exclusion Criteria: * Chronic pain with opioid requirement or concurrent use of enzyme inducers, e.g. carbamazepine, phenytoin, * Illicit substance use or excessive alcohol intake * Refusal by patient or case anesthesiologist responsible for patient's care
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Columbia University Irving Medical Center
New York, New York, 10032, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a common anesthetic stop Post-Surgery delirium in the elderly?
- Two sedatives, one question: can remimazolam shield the brain during aortic arch surgery?
- Can a forehead light sensor spot hidden brain oxygen drops during carotid surgery?
- Can a common sedative added to spinal anesthesia keep older minds clear after hip surgery?
- Could a sleep drug shield older hearts from post-surgery delirium?
- Could a common sedative shield aging brains from Post-Surgery delirium?