Postoperative esketamine improves ventilation after video-assisted thoracoscopic lung resection: A double-blinded randomized controlled trial

• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25100
• Publication Date: 2024-01-25T00:52:06Z
• Authors: Mengyue Fu; Rui Xu; Guizhen Chen; Xuemei Zheng; Bin Shu; He Huang; Guangyou Duan; Yuanjing Chen
• Keywords: H1-99; Science (General); Esketamine; Video-assisted thoracoscopy; Social sciences (General); Q1-390; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Randomized controlled trial; postoperative pulmonary function; Postoperative pulmonary complication; Research Article

Pain management after lung resection plays a crucial role in reducing postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs). This study aimed to examine the effect of postoperative esketamine infusion as an adjunct to opioid analgesia on ventilation and pulmonary complications in patients underwent lung resection.Patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic lung resection were randomly assigned to either the esketamine group or the control group. The esketamine group received a 24-h infusion of 1.5 mcg/ml sufentanil combined with 0.75 mcg/ml esketamine after surgery, while the control group received 1.5 mcg/ml sufentanil alone. The primary outcome measure was low minute ventilation, and the secondary outcome measures were hypoxemia, PaO2/FiO2 levels, postoperative pulmonary complications, hospital stay duration, ambulation time, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, depression and anxiety levels, sleep quality, and analgesia satisfaction.80 patients were randomly divided into two groups: the esketamine group (n = 40) and the control group (n = 40). The esketamine group exhibited notably reduced incidence of low minute ventilation (P = 0.014), lower occurrence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) compared to the control group (P = 0.039), and decreased incidence of hypoxemia (P = 0.003). Furthermore, the esketamine group showed improved outcomes with lower VAS scores on the second postoperative day and enhanced sleep quality (P < 0.001) after the surgery.Postoperative esketamine infusion with opioids improved ventilation and reduced PPCs after lung resection, warranting further clinical studies.This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (Trial ID: NCT05458453, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05458453).