Effect of phenylephrine versus ephedrine on the incidence of postoperative delirium in olderly adults undergoing knee arthroplasty under general anesthesia: a single-center trial

Abstract

Abstract In addition to stabilizing blood pressure (BP), ephedrine and phenylephrine have distinct effects on regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2). However, whether its effect on rSO2 affects the occurrence of postoperative delirium (POD) remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study is to compare the effects of ephedrine and phenylephrine for BP maintenance on the incidence of POD in olderly adults who underwent knee arthroplasty under general anesthesia. One hundred twenty patients who were between 60 and 90 years old and underwent knee arthroplasty were included in this study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: the ephedrine group and the phenylephrine group. After anesthesia induction, ephedrine and phenylephrine were continuously infused to maintain the intraoperative mean arterial pressure within the normal range (baseline mean arterial pressure ± 20%). The primary outcome measures included the incidence of POD within 1–3 days after surgery. The incidence of POD on the first day after surgery was lower in the ephedrine group than in the phenylephrine group (33% vs. 7%, P < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of POD between the two groups on the second and third postoperative days. Compared with the phenylephrine group, the ephedrine group experienced significantly greater cardiac output (CO) and rSO2 (P < 0.05). Clinical Trials Registry: ChiCTR2200064849, principal investigator: Changjian Zheng.