Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41409258›Full record

Trial reportDrug design, development and therapy2025

Effect of Ephedrine versus Phenylephrine on Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients Undergoing Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Jian-Li Song, Jun-Tao Zhang, Xu-Jiao Wang, Xuan Yu, Qiang Li, Bin Lu, Guan-Yu Chen

Abstract readRandomized Controlled TrialComparative Study
In one paragraph

Trial report in Drug design, development and therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Jian-Li Song *Department of Anesthesiology, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong City, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0001-9384-3602
Jun-Tao Zhang *Department of Anesthesiology, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong City, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
Xu-Jiao WangDepartment of Anesthesiology, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong City, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
Xuan YuDepartment of Anesthesiology, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong City, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
Qiang LiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong City, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
Bin LuDepartment of Anesthesiology, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong City, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
Guan-Yu ChenDepartment of Anesthesiology, Zigong Fourth People's Hospital, Zigong City, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0002-3354-4771

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common complication in elderly patients. Since ephedrine and phenylephrine have different effects on cerebral perfusion and oxygenation, this randomized controlled trial aimed to compare the impact of these two drugs on the incidence of POD in elderly patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty under general anesthesia. Patients and Methods: A total of 142 elderly patients, aged 65 to 80 years, who underwent elective surgery for total hip or knee arthroplasty were randomly assigned to either the ephedrine group (Group E) or the phenylephrine group (Group P). POD was evaluated using the 3-minute Diagnostic Confusion Assessment Method (3D-CAM). The primary outcome was the incidence of POD within three days after surgery, while secondary outcomes included the subtypes of delirium, intraoperative hemodynamic changes, intraoperative analgesic consumption, and the occurrence of intraoperative and postoperative adverse events. Results: Delirium occurred in 5 out of 65 cases (7.7%) in Group E and in 15 out of 67 cases (22.4%) in Group P (relative risk [RR], 0.344; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.132 to 0.891; p = 0.019). Compared to Group P, Group E exhibited a significantly lower incidence of intraoperative bradycardia (RR, 0.241; 95% CI, 0.114 to 0.508; p < 0.001). However, Group E also demonstrated a significantly higher consumption of intraoperative opioids (median difference [MD], 23.0; 95% CI, 2.0 to 25.0 mg; p = 0.020). Notably, despite the higher intraoperative opioid consumption in Group E, there was no statistically significant difference in postoperative pain scores between the two groups (p > 0.05). Additionally, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in other indicators, including intraoperative hemodynamic changes and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (p > 0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, among elderly patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty, the use of ephedrine to correct intraoperative hypotension was associated with a reduced incidence of POD within three days compared to phenylephrine. However, the absence of cerebral oxygen saturation monitoring and the limited follow-up period of only three days for POD assessment represent significant limitations. These factors should be carefully considered when interpreting our results.

Indexed as

Arthroplasty, Replacement, HipArthroplasty, Replacement, KneeDeliriumEphedrinePhenylephrinePostoperative ComplicationsAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleEphedrinePhenylephrinedeliriumelderly patientsephedrineorthopedic surgeryphenylephrine

Identifiers

PMID41409258
PMCPMC12707152

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.