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Intranasal Esketamine-dexmedetomidine Combination in Patients With Postherpetic Neuralgia

8 november 2026 bijgewerkt door: Dong-Xin Wang, Peking University First Hospital

Efficacy of Intranasal Esketamine-dexmedetomidine Combination in Patients With Postherpetic Neuralgia: a Randomized, Double-blind, Active Drug-controlled Trial

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a chronic neuropathic pain syndrome suffered by patients with herpes zoster and often adversely affect patients' normal lives, leading to declines in sleep and quality of life. Ketamine/esketamine has been used for treatment of chronic pain but may produce adverse psychiatric reactions at slightly higher doses, including dissociative symptoms, hallucinations, and nightmares; the sedative effect of dexmedetomidine helps mitigate its psychiatric side effects. A previous study in orthopedic surgery patients also showed that dexmedetomidine combined with esketamine can significantly improve perioperative analgesia and sleep quality. The investigators hypothesize that intranasal administration of dexmedetomidine combined with esketamine in patients with postherpetic neuralgia can improve analgesic efficacy.

Studie Overzicht

Toestand

Nog niet aan het werven

Conditie

Interventie / Behandeling

Gedetailleerde beschrijving

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a chronic neuropathic pain syndrome suffered by patients with herpes zoster. The typical feature of PHN is deep burning pain in the affected unilateral dermatome, often accompanied by stabbing pain and itching, persisting for more than 3 months after the initial onset of herpes zoster. The incidence of PHN among patients with herpes zoster is approximately 10-20%. The chronic pain symptoms of PHN often adversely affect patients' normal lives, leading to declines in sleep and quality of life. Approximately 50% of PHN patients have sleep disturbances. These ultimately affect cognitive function and mental health.

Ketamine is a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist and has long been used as a dissociative anesthetic. At subanesthetic doses, ketamine exhibits analgesic and antihyperalgesic effects. Guidelines recommend low-dose ketamine infusion for the treatment of chronic pain. Esketamine is the more potent right-handed enantiomer of ketamine, with stronger affinity for the NMDA receptor; its potency is approximately twice that of ketamine, and the incidence of adverse psychiatric reactions is lower in clinical use. Intranasal esketamine has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of adults with treatment-resistant depression and represents a more non-invasive route of administration.

Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective α2-adrenergic receptor agonist with sedative, analgesic, and anxiolytic effects. Dexmedetomidine acts on the locus coeruleus, inhibiting the release of norepinephrine from neurons in the locus coeruleus and the activity of the medullary-spinal descending neural pathways, thereby producing sedative and analgesic effects. In perioperative management, dexmedetomidine is widely used for postoperative adjuvant analgesia; it can also improve patients' sleep, producing a state resembling non-rapid eye movement sleep. Intranasal dexmedetomidine can be safely used in adults and children and is currently widely used for pediatric procedural sedation and preoperative medication.

Ketamine/esketamine can produce adverse psychiatric reactions at slightly higher doses, including dissociative symptoms, hallucinations, and nightmares; the sedative effect of dexmedetomidine helps mitigate its psychiatric side effects. A previous study in orthopedic surgery patients also showed that dexmedetomidine combined with esketamine can significantly improve perioperative analgesia and sleep quality. The investigators hypothesize that intranasal administration of dexmedetomidine combined with esketamine in patients with postherpetic neuralgia can improve analgesic efficacy.

Studietype

Ingrijpend

Inschrijving (Geschat)

80

Fase

  • Fase 4

Contacten en locaties

In dit gedeelte vindt u de contactgegevens van degenen die het onderzoek uitvoeren en informatie over waar dit onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd.

Studiecontact

Studie Locaties

    • Beijing Municipality
      • Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China, 100034
        • Peking University First Hospital
        • Contact:

Deelname Criteria

Onderzoekers zoeken naar mensen die aan een bepaalde beschrijving voldoen, de zogenaamde geschiktheidscriteria. Enkele voorbeelden van deze criteria zijn iemands algemene gezondheidstoestand of eerdere behandelingen.

Geschiktheidscriteria

Leeftijden die in aanmerking komen voor studie

50 jaar en ouder (Volwassen, Oudere volwassene)

Accepteert gezonde vrijwilligers

Nee

Geslachten die in aanmerking komen voor studie

Allemaal

Beschrijving

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 50 years.
  • Diagnosis of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) requiring pharmacological analgesia, with a pain score ≥ 4 on the numerical rating scale (NRS).
  • Provision of written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unsuitability for intranasal administration due to nasal disorders (e.g., rhinitis, nasal polyps, or nasal obstruction from any cause).
  • Inability to communicate owing to severe dementia, coma, or a language barrier.
  • History of schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, or myasthenia gravis.
  • Previous diagnosis of sleep apnoea, or high risk of moderate-to-severe sleep apnoea on the STOP-Bang assessment, or body mass index > 30 kg/m².
  • History of hyperthyroidism or phaeochromocytoma.
  • Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 30%; or sick sinus syndrome, severe sinus bradycardia (heart rate < 50 bpm), or second-degree or higher atrioventricular block without an implanted pacemaker; or systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg before enrolment.
  • Severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh class C); severe renal impairment requiring dialysis; or any ongoing life-threatening condition (e.g., myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, transient ischaemic attack, or coronary stenting within the previous 3 months; active myocardial ischaemia; severe valvular disease; or end-stage renal disease not receiving dialysis).
  • Hypersensitivity to dexmedetomidine and/or esketamine.
  • Participation in another clinical trial, or any other condition that, in the investigator's opinion, makes the patient unsuitable for inclusion.

Studie plan

Dit gedeelte bevat details van het studieplan, inclusief hoe de studie is opgezet en wat de studie meet.

Hoe is de studie opgezet?

Ontwerpdetails

  • Primair doel: Behandeling
  • Toewijzing: Gerandomiseerd
  • Interventioneel model: Parallelle opdracht
  • Masker: Verviervoudigen

Wapens en interventies

Deelnemersgroep / Arm
Interventie / Behandeling
Experimenteel: DEX-ESK group

For each administration: dexmedetomidine (1 spray = 0.05 ml = 25 μg) is administered as one spray into each nostril; after 1 minute, esketamine (1 spray = 0.05 ml = 1.25 mg) is administered alternately into each nostril, 4 sprays per nostril. Esketamine administration is repeated every 5 minutes until a total dose of 0.3 mg/kg is reached (using the number of sprays closest to the predetermined dose). If a dose is not tolerated, one administration may be omitted.

Administer once daily for 4 consecutive days, with the same administration method as above.

For each administration: dexmedetomidine (1 spray = 0.05 ml = 25 μg) is administered as one spray into each nostril; after 1 minute, esketamine (1 spray = 0.05 ml = 1.25 mg) is administered alternately into each nostril, 4 sprays per nostril. Esketamine administration is repeated every 5 minutes until a total dose of 0.3 mg/kg is reached (using the number of sprays closest to the predetermined dose). If a dose is not tolerated, one administration may be omitted.

Administer once daily for 4 consecutive days, with the same administration method as above.

Andere namen:
  • Intranasal dexmedetomidine and esketamine
Actieve vergelijker: ESK group

For each administration: placebo (0.9% saline; 1 spray = 0.05 ml) is administered as one spray into each nostril; after 1 minute, esketamine (1 spray = 0.05 ml = 1.25 mg) is administered alternately into each nostril, 4 sprays per nostril. Esketamine administration is repeated every 5 minutes until a total dose of 0.3 mg/kg is reached (using the number of sprays closest to the predetermined dose). If a dose is not tolerated, one administration may be omitted.

Administer once daily for 4 consecutive days, with the same administration method as above.

For each administration: placebo (0.9% saline; 1 spray = 0.05 ml) is administered as one spray into each nostril; after 1 minute, esketamine (1 spray = 0.05 ml = 1.25 mg) is administered alternately into each nostril, 4 sprays per nostril. Esketamine administration is repeated every 5 minutes until a total dose of 0.3 mg/kg is reached (using the number of sprays closest to the predetermined dose). If a dose is not tolerated, one administration may be omitted.

Administer once daily for 4 consecutive days, with the same administration method as above.

Andere namen:
  • Intranasal placebo (normal saline) and esketamine

Wat meet het onderzoek?

Primaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Sum of pain intensity difference (SPID) within 7 days after the first administration
Tijdsspanne: Within 7 days after the first administration

Follow-up time points: before each administration (Days 1, 2, 3, and 4 of enrollment; face-to-face follow-up); on Days 1, 2, and 3 after the last administration (Days 5, 6, and 7 of enrollment; telephone follow-up at the same time of day as drug administration).

Pain intensity: the patient's NRS pain score over the past 24 hours is recorded (0-10; 0 = no pain at all, 10 = the worst pain imaginable).

Sum of pain intensity difference (SPID): calculated as the sum of (baseline NRS score - NRS score at each scheduled daily follow-up) within 7 days after the first administration (i.e., 3 days after the last treatment).

Within 7 days after the first administration

Secundaire uitkomstmaten

Uitkomstmaat
Maatregel Beschrijving
Tijdsspanne
Sum of pain intensity difference (SPID) during Weeks 2 to 12 after the first administration
Tijdsspanne: During Weeks 2 to 12 after the first administration

Follow-up time points: once weekly after the last administration until Week 12 of enrollment (Days 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77, and 84 of enrollment; telephone follow-up).

Pain intensity: the patient's NRS pain score over the past 24 hours is recorded (0-10; 0 = no pain at all, 10 = the worst pain imaginable).

Sum of pain intensity difference (SPID): calculated as the sum of (baseline NRS score - NRS score at each scheduled weekly follow-up) during Weeks 2 to 12 after the first administration.

During Weeks 2 to 12 after the first administration
Change from baseline in ZBPI chronic pain and impact scores within 3 months after treatment
Tijdsspanne: Up to 3 months after the first administration

Follow-up time points: Days 7 and 14 after the first administration (telephone follow-up); Months 1, 2, and 3 after the first administration (Days 28, 56, and 84 of enrollment; telephone follow-up).

Severity of chronic pain and its impact on patients: assessed using the Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI, Appendix 7). Pain severity is rated from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater pain severity; pain interference is rated from 0 to 10 across 7 domains, with higher scores indicating greater interference with daily functioning.

Within 3 months after the first dose

Up to 3 months after the first administration

Medewerkers en onderzoekers

Hier vindt u mensen en organisaties die betrokken zijn bij dit onderzoek.

Sponsor

Onderzoekers

  • Hoofdonderzoeker: Dong-Xin Wang, MD, PhD, Peking University First Hospital

Publicaties en nuttige links

De persoon die verantwoordelijk is voor het invoeren van informatie over het onderzoek stelt deze publicaties vrijwillig ter beschikking. Dit kan gaan over alles wat met het onderzoek te maken heeft.

Algemene publicaties

Studie record data

Deze datums volgen de voortgang van het onderzoeksdossier en de samenvatting van de ingediende resultaten bij ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieverslagen en gerapporteerde resultaten worden beoordeeld door de National Library of Medicine (NLM) om er zeker van te zijn dat ze voldoen aan specifieke kwaliteitscontrolenormen voordat ze op de openbare website worden geplaatst.

Bestudeer belangrijke data

Studie start (Geschat)

1 november 2026

Primaire voltooiing (Geschat)

1 november 2027

Studie voltooiing (Geschat)

1 mei 2028

Studieregistratiedata

Eerst ingediend

8 november 2026

Eerst ingediend dat voldeed aan de QC-criteria

8 november 2026

Eerst geplaatst (Werkelijk)

13 november 2026

Updates van studierecords

Laatste update geplaatst (Werkelijk)

13 november 2026

Laatste update ingediend die voldeed aan QC-criteria

8 november 2026

Laatst geverifieerd

1 november 2026

Meer informatie

Termen gerelateerd aan deze studie

Andere studie-ID-nummers

  • 2026R0576

Plan Individuele Deelnemersgegevens (IPD)

Bent u van plan om gegevens van individuele deelnemers (IPD) te delen?

NEE

Informatie over medicijnen en apparaten, studiedocumenten

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd geneesmiddel

Nee

Bestudeert een door de Amerikaanse FDA gereguleerd apparaatproduct

Nee

Deze informatie is zonder wijzigingen rechtstreeks van de website clinicaltrials.gov gehaald. Als u verzoeken heeft om uw onderzoeksgegevens te wijzigen, te verwijderen of bij te werken, neem dan contact op met register@clinicaltrials.gov. Zodra er een wijziging wordt doorgevoerd op clinicaltrials.gov, wordt deze ook automatisch bijgewerkt op onze website .