Evidence mapPaperPMID 41450534Full record

Trial reportDrug design, development and therapy2025

Effects of Intravenous Subanesthetic-Dose Esketamine on Early Postoperative Pain in Elderly Patients Undergoing Thoracoscopic Lung Surgery: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial.

Haishu Zhao, Zhi Liu, Yue Zhang, Mengna Liu, Yao Ning, Dapeng Gao, Kangli Hui, Qing Ji, Lidong Zhang

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
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, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
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 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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

9 authors.

Haishu Zhao *Department of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0009-0003-4054-2787
Zhi Liu *Department of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Yue ZhangDepartment of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Mengna LiuDepartment of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Yao NingDepartment of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Dapeng GaoDepartment of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0009-0005-7953-0067
Kangli HuiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Qing JiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Lidong ZhangDepartment of Anesthesiology, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: Thoracic surgery is one of the postoperative surgical procedures with the most severe pain. This study aimed to assess whether intraoperative subanesthetic esketamine could reduce the proportion of elderly patients experiencing moderate-to-severe pain following thoracoscopic lung resection. Patients and Methods: A total of 136 elderly patients undergoing thoracoscopic pulmonary surgery were randomly assigned to two groups: the esketamine group (0.25 mg/kg loading, 0.25 mg/kg/h infusion) and the control group (received normal saline). The primary outcome was the proportion of patients experiencing moderate-to-severe pain on the first postoperative day (POD1), defined as a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) pain score ≥4 during coughing. The secondary outcomes were the postoperative Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores, opioid consumption, hemodynamics, and adverse events. Results: The primary outcome incidence was lower in the esketamine group (51.5% [35/68]) than in the control group (69.1% [47/68]; relative risk [RR], 0.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56-0.99; P = 0.035). The proportion of patients with moderate-to-severe pain in the esketamine group decreased by 25.5%. The analysis revealed an absolute risk reduction (ARR) of 17.6% and a number needed to treat (NNT) of 5.7 (rounded to 6). The incidence of postoperative sleep disturbance (PSD) on POD1 (23.5% vs 44.1%; RR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.32-0.88; Conclusion: This study demonstrated that intraoperative subanesthetic esketamine reduced the proportion of moderate-to-severe pain in elderly patients after thoracoscopic surgery, decreased the incidence of sleep disturbances, improved anxiety and depression scores, and lowered opioid consumption, without increasing neuropsychiatric adverse events.

Indexed as

AnalgesicsKetamineLungPostoperative PainThoracoscopyAdministration, IntravenousAgedAged, 80 and overDose-Response Relationship, DrugDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansInfusions, IntravenousMaleMiddle AgedAnalgesicsEsketamineKetamineesketaminemultimodal analgesiapostoperative analgesiasleepthoracoscopic lung surgery

Identifiers

PMID41450534
PMCPMC12729055

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

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.