Impact of Sevoflurane Versus Propofol on Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Diabetic Patients Undergoing Non-Cardiac Surgery: a Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial

September 13, 2026 updated by: Xijing Hospital
The present study is a multicenter， randomized controlled clinical trial, which plans to enroll 450 diabetic patients aged more than 60 years. The participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio and will receive either propofol or sevoflurane for intraoperative anesthesia maintenance to evaluate the impact of these two anesthetic drugs on postoperative delirium. The aim of our study is to explore whether the use of propofol for anesthesia maintenance in elderly diabetic patients undergoing elective non-cardiac major surgery can reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium. This study will provide new perspectives for improving perioperative management in elderly diabetic patients and optimizing anesthesia management strategies to reduce the risk of postoperative delirium.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
450

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Shanxi
      • Xi’an, Shanxi, China, 710032
        • The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥60 years
  • Elective surgery (with an expected duration of 2 hours or more)
  • ASA grade Ⅰ-Ⅲ
  • Voluntary participation and informed consent obtained
  • Diabetes mellitus

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pre-operative BMI≥35 kg/m² (Class II obesity or above)
  • Severe hepatic dysfunction (Child-Pugh class C) or pre-operative dialysis-dependent renal dysfunction
  • Known neurological or psychiatric diseases (Parkinson's disease, depression, schizophrenia), or cognitive impairment (dementia)
  • Severe visual or auditory impairments, language barriers, or patients who cannot cooperate
  • Long-term use of sedatives, antipsychotic drugs, or long-term alcohol abuse
  • Neurosurgical patients
  • Patients with a known allergy to the drugs used in this study or those suspected of having propofol infusion syndrome

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: TIVA
Participants assigned to the TIVA group will receive propofol combined with remifentanil for anesthesia maintenance during the surgery
Drug: TIVA ( anesthesia with propofol and remifentanil)
Participants assigned to the TIVA group will receive propofol combined with remifentanil for anesthesia maintenance during the surgery
Experimental: VA
Participants assigned to the VA group will receive sevoflurane combined with remifentanil for anesthesia maintenance during the surgery.
Drug: VA（anesthesia with sevoflurane and remifentanil）
Participants assigned to the VA group will receive sevoflurane combined with remifentanil for anesthesia maintenance during the surgery.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
the incidence of delirium
Time Frame: within the first 7 postoperative days
Postoperative delirium will be assessed daily at 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM from postoperative days 1 to 7, or until discharge, using the 3D-CAM scale.
within the first 7 postoperative days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The severity of POD
Time Frame: within the first 7 postoperative days
The severity of postoperative delirium will be evaluated with the 4-item CAM-S scale (total score: 7 points, where 0 points indicates no delirium; 1 point indicates mild delirium; 2 points indicates moderate delirium; 3-7 points indicate severe delirium).
within the first 7 postoperative days
The duration of POD
Time Frame: within the first 7 postoperative days
The total number of days with positive results.
within the first 7 postoperative days
The length of hospital stay
Time Frame: the first 7 postoperative days
the first 7 postoperative days
Blood glucose levels
Time Frame: before anesthesia induction (T0), 1 h and 2 h after incision (T1, T2), at skin closure (T3), before PACU discharge (T4), and on post-operative days 1 and 2 (T5, T6)
During the surgery, bedside capillary blood glucose levels will be measured using a portable blood glucose meter (capillary blood).
before anesthesia induction (T0), 1 h and 2 h after incision (T1, T2), at skin closure (T3), before PACU discharge (T4), and on post-operative days 1 and 2 (T5, T6)

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Serum inflammatory factor (IL-6) levels
Time Frame: post-operative days 1 and 2 (T5, T6)
post-operative days 1 and 2 (T5, T6)
Serum neurodegenerative factor (S-100β protein) levels
Time Frame: post-operative days 1 and 2 (T5, T6)
post-operative days 1 and 2 (T5, T6)
Serum insulin levels
Time Frame: at 1 h and 2 h after incision(T1, T2)
at 1 h and 2 h after incision(T1, T2)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Xijing Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 1, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 17, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 17, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 23, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 13, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NCT06788743

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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