The Impact of Methylprednisolone Sodium Succinate on Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery: A Target Trial Emulation Study

November 26, 2025 updated by: Jingsheng Lou, Chinese PLA General Hospital
Glucocorticoids can be used to inhibit postoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome. They may reduce the risk of major complications and mortality. Previous studies on the effect of glucocorticoids on postoperative cognitive dysfunction may lack generalizability due to short follow-up periods for cognitive function after surgery, insufficient follow-up results of cognitive function throughout the entire hospitalization, and a single surgical approach. Clinical evidence provided by previous randomized controlled trials may be biased due to loss-to-follow-up rates caused by researchers' failure to timely follow up on cognitive dysfunction outcomes. Most previous randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of glucocorticoids on postoperative delirium have limitations, mainly including small sample sizes and limited statistical power. Given the high cost of conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials involving various types of perioperative abdominal surgeries in elderly patients and the practical difficulty of reducing loss-to-follow-up rates, there is an urgent need to find alternative approaches. In this study, we extracted data from the in-hospital electronic medical record system and conducted a target simulation trial based on the designed randomized controlled trial protocol investigating the effect of methylprednisolone sodium succinate on postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Using existing data, we analyzed whether administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during anesthesia induction has an impact on the incidence of postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

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.
Observational

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.
25800

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • China
      • Beijing, China
        • Chinese PLA General Hospital

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

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients aged ≥ 65 years undergoing abdominal surgery

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 1、Age ≥ 65 years; 2、Patients undergoing abdominal surgery under general anesthesia, including gynecological, hepatobiliary, gastrointestinal, and urological surgeries.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1、Patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification ≥ Ⅳ (including Class Ⅳ);2、Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) postoperatively; 3、Patients with a preoperative history of schizophrenia, epilepsy, or Parkinson's disease;4、Patients with diseases requiring hormone therapy for more than 7 days within 1 year prior to surgery; 5、Patients unable to communicate preoperatively (due to coma, severe dementia, or language/hearing impairment) and those with a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score < 26;6、Patients with any cerebrovascular event within the past 3 years; 7、Patients who underwent general anesthesia surgery within the past 3 months.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Patients aged ≥ 65 years undergoing abdominal surgery
Drug: Administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction
Administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction
Drug: No administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction
No administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction

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
Time Frame
Incidence of postoperative delirium within 3 days postoperatively
Time Frame: within 3 days postoperatively
within 3 days postoperatively

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
Time Frame
Incidence of postoperative delirium within 7 days postoperatively
Time Frame: within 7 days postoperatively
within 7 days postoperatively

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.
Chinese PLA General 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.
October 1, 2018

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.
September 30, 2020

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.
October 1, 2021

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).
November 26, 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.
November 26, 2025

First Posted (Estimated)

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.
December 9, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
December 9, 2025

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.
November 26, 2025

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.
October 1, 2018

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.
  • YXM02

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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