Anesthesia Clinical Trials 2022
Browse 120 Anesthesia Medical Studies Across 104 Cities
12 Phase 3 Trial · 242 Anesthesia Clinics
What are Anesthesia Clinical Trials?
Anesthesia is the use of anesthetics during surgical procedures to prevent pain. It can be administered via inhalation, injection, spray, topical lotion, skin patch, and eye drops. Anesthetic treatment can be divided into the following categories:
- Local anesthesia: A small area of the body is numbed, for example, in the gums surrounding a tooth to be extracted. Patients are conscious and alert under local anesthesia.
- Regional anesthesia: A larger part of the body is numbed, such as the lower half of the body, an arm, or leg. Patients are awake under regional anesthesia; however, some experience drowsiness.
- General anesthesia: the entire body is numbed. A patient is completely unconscious and unable to move. General anesthesia is used for longer, more complicated surgeries such as heart, brain, abdominal procedures, and organ transplants.
Why Is Anesthesia Being Studied Through Clinical Trials?
Currently, every minor and major surgical procedure uses some form of anesthesia. In the US only, every day, approximately 60,000 patients are given general anesthesia before surgery. Despite its widespread use, anesthesia still comes with risks that increase with certain factors, such as very young age (< 3), old age (> 65), and those with previous health conditions.
Anesthesia is not considered life-threatening. Side effects range from minor issues such as nausea and vomiting to significant problems such as myocardial infarction and kidney failure. Even though anesthesia-related deaths are only around 40 in every million, clinical trials can help reduce these numbers further.
Other trials are aimed at finding the ideal anesthetic drug, that is, one that produces all the necessary numbing effects without negatively affecting pulse, blood pressure, and breathing.
How Does Anesthesia Treatment Work?
It is important to note that anesthesia is not a treatment. Instead, it is the use of drugs that allows doctors to treat a patient without pain and discomfort. Anesthesia is used in three stages: pre-operative risk assessment, drug administration and monitoring, and emergence.
- Pre-Operative Risk Assessment: Healthcare professionals take a medical history and perform a physical exam and blood work to determine if a patient is at risk of the side effects of anesthesia.
- Drug Administration and Monitoring: Drugs are given based on the surgeon's requirements. For example, general anesthesia is given via inhalation. While under anesthesia, patients are continuously monitored to ensure there is no stress response from the body. This includes monitoring ECGs, heart rate, oxygen levels, inhaled and exhaled gases, and temperature. During surgery, more anesthesia can be given if needed.
- Emergence: Patients are monitored as the effects of the anesthesia wear off. Hypothermia (shivering) and confusion are the most common immediate effects, as the body cannot move and produce heat.
What are Some Recent Anesthesia Clinical Trial Breakthroughs?
2018: A trial sponsored by the University of Chicago researched the effects of caffeine to increase the speed of emergence from anesthesia. Preliminary results showed a significant acceleration without any side effects. However, these results need to be verified with a larger sample size.
2022: A clinical study that started in 2017 is researching the long-term effects of two different anesthetics on children. Sponsored by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, this trial observes 450 subjects for neurotoxicity and developmental milestones. It is set to complete in 2025.
About The Author
Michael Gill holds a Bachelors of Science in Integrated Science and Mathematics from McMaster University. During his degree he devoted considerable time modeling the pharmacodynamics of promising drug candidates. Since then, he has leveraged this knowledge of the investigational new drug ecosystem to help his father navigate clinical trials for multiple myeloma, an experience which prompted him to co-found Power Life Sciences: a company that helps patients access randomized controlled trials.