Conscious Sedation for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Comparative Study of Propofol Versus Dexmedetomidine for Conscious Sedation During Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Aortic valve stenosis is the heart valve disease with the highest prevalence among the elderly, and may lead to heart failure. Until recently, the only definitive treatment was surgical replacement (SAVR). However, the increased risk associated with the surgical procedure excluded patients with multiple co-morbidities. As the population is aging and more and more patients may present with aortic stenosis, the need of a less invasive approach has emerged. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) offered an alternative therapy for these high risk patients. This new method has seen worldwide acceptance, has been proven very beneficial for these patients, and therefore its indications have been expanded to intermediate risk patients, as well. Until recently, general anesthesia was the primary anesthetic technique for TAVR, but conscious sedation or monitored anesthesia care (MAC) is gaining more and more popularity lately. Our knowledge regarding the comparison between general anesthesia and MAC in TAVR procedures is derived mainly from observational studies and few randomized trials. MAC seems to be associated with less inotropic drug usage, shorter procedural times, shorter intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay. However, according to published data, there were no differences in 30-day mortality and complications between these two techniques.

Even less are known about the most suitable anesthetic agent for MAC during TAVR. Many drugs have been used, with propofol and dexmedetomidine being the most popular. However, there are only few comparative studies and their results are not conclusive.

This study compares MAC under propofol and MAC under dexmedetomidine for TAVR in order to examine which method of conscious sedation comes with more beneficial postoperative outcomes for the patients.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Death; Postoperative Delirium; Renal Function Disorder; Satisfaction; Adverse Event
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Continuous infusion of propofol; Drug: Continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine

Detailed Description

Aortic valve stenosis is the most common heart valve disease among the elderly, and eventually may lead to heart failure. Its surgical replacement (SAVR) was the only definitive treatment, but this operation is considered to be of increased risk for morbidity and mortality. Also, there is a growing number of elderly with severe co-morbidities, who are considered as high risk patients, that cannot undergo such an operation. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) offered an alternative method of treatment for these patients. Furthermore, its indications were expanded to intermediate risk patients due to its advantages over SAVR.

At first, general anesthesia was the most popular anesthetic method for TAVR. However, conscious sedation and Monitored Anesthesia Care (MAC) have emerged as advantageous alternatives, in terms of inotropic drug usage, procedural times, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital length of stay. However, few data exist about the anesthetic agents that are most suitable for TAVR under MAC, with propofol and dexmedetomidine being the most popular of them.

This is a prospective comparative study of propofol versus dexmedetomidine used for MAC in TAVR procedures. The patients will be randomly allocated into two groups and will be sedated by continuous infusion of either propofol or dexmedetomidine during the TAVR procedure. These two groups will be assessed for the overall quality of the sedation method, the clinical outcomes, the adverse events and the duration of hospitalization. At the preoperative evaluation, detailed patients' medical history will be taken, their comorbidities, physique, heart echocardiography measurements, level of frailty, renal function and neurocognitive level will be assessed and recorded and, finally, signed consent will be obtained.

During the procedure, the depth of sedation will be monitored with the use of Patient State Index (PSI) and the fluctuation of arterial pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation, the administration of vasoactive agents and fluids, apnea episodes and diuresis will be also recorded. By the end of the procedure, the volume and type of contrast agent used, the type of the implanted valve and the duration of both the sedation and the operation will be documented. Throughout their hospitalization, adverse events, renal function and neurocognitive level will be recorded, along with the occurrence of postoperative delirium. After patients' discharge, their duration of hospitalization, both in cardiac intensive care unit and cardiology clinic will be recorded. Follow up of the patients will be completed after thirty days. All-cause mortality will be assessed at this point and there will be a detailed recording of any adverse events and/or re-hospitalization along with long-term assessment of renal and cognitive function.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 65
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Greece
  • Epirus
    • Ioannina, Epirus, Greece
      • Univesity Hospital of Ioannina

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients scheduled for TAVR

Exclusion Criteria:

• Emergency operation
• Pre-existing neurocognitive dysfunction (Mini Mental State Examination score <23)
• Inability to cooparate - communicate
• End Stage Renal Disease
• Allergy to any of the administrated drugs
• No consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Propofol group; Continuous infusion of propofol	Drug: Continuous infusion of propofol; Sedation under continuous infusion of propofol. Small doses of fentanyl will be administered if needed.; Other Names: Prop Group
Active Comparator: Dexmedetomidine group; Continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine	Drug: Continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine; Sedation under continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine. Small doses of fentanyl will be administered if needed.; Other Names: Dex Group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change of serum creatinine from baseline	Assessment of renal function by serial measurements of serum creatinine (mg/dL) at four different time points (at baseline, at 24 hours, at 48 hours and at 30 days postoperatively).	Up to 30 days
Change of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) from baseline	Assessment of renal function by serial measurements of BUN (mg/dL) at four different time points (at baseline, at 24 hours, at 48 hours and at 30 days postoperatively).	Up to 30 days
Change of serum cystatin C from baseline	Assessment of renal function by serial measurements of serum cystatin C (mg/l) at four different time points (at baseline, at 24 hours, at 48 hours and at 30 days postoperatively).	Up to 30 days
Change of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from baseline using the Cockcoft-Gault equation	Assessment of renal function by serial calculations of GFR (ml/min) at four different time points (at baseline, at 24 hours, at 48 hours and at 30 days postoperatively) using the Cockcoft-Gault equation.	Up to 30 days
Change of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) from baseline using the MDRD equation	Assessment of renal function by serial calculations of GFR (ml/min) at four different time points (at baseline, at 24 hours, at 48 hours and at 30 days postoperatively) using the MDMR equation.	Up to 30 days
Postoperative dellirium	Recording of postoperative delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) score.	48 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Death	The occurence of death	Up to 30 days
Neurocognitive level	Assessment of neurocognitive function of the patient with the use of the mini mental state examination (MMSE) score.	Up to 48 hours
Vasoactive and inotropic agents	The usage of norepinephrine, epinephrine, phenylephrine, ephedrine, nitroglycerin, atropine, or other relevant agents will be recorded as the cumulative dosage of each administered during the procedure.	Intraoperatively
Stroke	The occurrence of stroke after the procedure will be assessed as a binary outcome variable (yes/no).	Up to 30 days
Myocardial infraction	The occurrence of myocardial infraction after the procedure will be assessed as a binary outcome variable (yes/no).	Up to 30 days
Acute heart failure	The occurrence of acute heart failure after the procedure will be assessed as a binary outcome variable (yes/no).	Up to 30 days
Life threatening arrythmias	The occurrence of life threatening arrythmias after the procedure will be assessed as a binary outcome variable (yes/no).	Up to 30 days
Rehospitalization	The occurrence of rehospitalization will be assessed as a binary outcome variable (yes/no).	Up to 30 days
Pain intensity	Pain intensity will be recorded using the numerical rating scale (NRS).	Up to 48 hours
Headache	The occurrence of headache after the procedure will be assessed as a binary outcome variable (yes/no)	Up to 48 hours
Nausea/vomiting	The occurrence of nausea/vomiting after the procedure will be assessed by a 5-point scale (0 to 4, with 4 indicating the worse outcome).	Up to 48 hours
Pruritus	The occurrence of pruritus after the procedure will be assessed by an 11-point scale (0 to 10, with 10 indicating the worse outcome).	Up to 48 hours
Hypoxemia	The occurrence of hypoxemia after the procedure will be assessed by continuous monitoring of oxygen level (SpO2).	Up to 48 hours
Duration of sedation	The duration of sedation is defined as the time (minutes) from the start of the sedative agent administration to patient recovery (alert and able to communicate).	Intraoperatively
Procedural time	Procedural time is defined as the time (minutes) from the start of the procedure to last suture.	Intraoperatively
Rapid pacing time	Rapid pacing time is defined as the cumulative time (seconds) of rapid ventricular pacing performed during the procedure.	Intraoperatively
ICU length of stay	The cumulative length of stay in the cardiac intensive care unit (days) after the procedure.	Postoperatively and up to 30 days
Length of stay	The cumulative length of stay in the ward (days) after the procedure.	Postoperatively and up to 30 days
Patient satisfaction	Patient satisfaction will be assessed using the Likert satisfaction scale.	24 hours
Cardiologist satisfaction	The satisfaction of the interventional cardiologists performing the procedure will be assessed by the Likert satisfaction scale.	24 hours
Awareness	Occurrence of intraoperative awareness of the patient will be assessed using the Michigan Awareness Classification Instrument.	Up to 30 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Ioannina
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Paraskevas Tseniklidis, MD, University of Ioannina

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 11, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 15, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): March 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 8, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 13, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): July 18, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 6, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 1, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: dexmedetomidine; propofol; monitored anesthesia care; conscious sedation; transcatheter aortic valve replacement
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Postoperative Complications; Pathologic Processes; Confusion; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurocognitive Disorders; Delirium; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior; Signs and Symptoms; Emergence Delirium; Death; Personal Satisfaction; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Adrenergic Agents; Neurotransmitter Agents; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Central Nervous System Depressants; Peripheral Nervous System Agents; Analgesics; Sensory System Agents; Anesthetics, Intravenous; Anesthetics, General; Anesthetics; Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists; Adrenergic alpha-Agonists; Adrenergic Agonists; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Propofol; Dexmedetomidine
• Other Study ID Numbers: 11772

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No