Clinical trial NCT01903421: Inhalational Anesthesia and Precipitation of Dementia: is There a Link?
Official title: Inhalational Anesthesia and Precipitation of Dementia: is There a Link? A Prospective, Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial Comparing Two Different Anesthetic Techniques in Elderly Patients
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Alzheimer's Disease
Dementia
Keywords: Elderly surgical patients
Alzheimer's disease
Dementia
Elderly
Surgery
Lead sponsor: University Health Network, Toronto
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2013-07-19
Enrollment: 500
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 65
Standard ages: OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: The proposed study will be a prospective, multicenter, cluster randomization clinical trial comparing two different anesthetic techniques in elderly patients (\> 65 years of age) undergoing urology/orthopedic/general surgery. The study will follow a cluster design; patients undergoing orthopedic or vascular surgery will have spinal anesthesia, where standard practice. Patients undergoing urology or general surgery will receive general anesthesia, also where it is standard practice. Patients with severe dementia will be excluded.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Many elderly patients undergoing surgical procedures already have impaired cognitive (memory/concentration) status. Patients with pre-existing cognitive impairment, or dementia, may benefit from modified anesthesia techniques. It is estimated that one in eight people age 65 and older has Alzheimers disease. More so, nearly half of people that are 85 years or older have Alzheimers disease. Currently, both spinal (regional) and inhalational (general) anesthesia, are used in patients undergoing common urological, orthopedic, and general surgical procedures. Inhalational anesthesia has been associated with higher risk of memory impairment in experimental (animal) and human studies. However, currently, there are simply no large or good enough studies to be sure that inhalational anesthesia is responsible for causing dementia and Alzheimers disease.The proposed study investigates if elderly patients (65 years and older) undergoing spinal anesthesia (patient is awake or slightly sedated) are less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimers disease for up to 2 years after surgery, when compared to inhalational anesthesia (patient is kept asleep with gas anesthetic). The investigators will also test all patients for the presence of apolipoprotein (ApoE-Îμ4 type of gene that is present in 15-20% of patients), and beta-amyloid tau protein (present in cerebrospinal fluid) that are known risk factors for Alzheimers disease. The particular strength of this study is that it takes into account whether the frequency and/or severity of dementia and Alzheimers disease is different in patients with and without these markers. The investigators believe that this study will make a major contribution to better understanding of development of Alzheimers disease.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* \>65 yrs of age
* Male or female
* Scheduled to undergo urologic procedures (e.g., transurethral resection of prostate, transurethral resection of bladder tumor), orthopedic (e.g., total knee replacement, total hip replacement) general (e.g., femoral hernia repair, lower abdominal surgery) or vascular surgery procedures (e.g. lower limb reperfusion amputations) and qualifies to be randomized to receive either local (spinal) or general anesthetic

Exclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosis of severe dementia
* Diagnosis of any other significant neurological disease such as Parkinson's, multi-infarct dementia, Huntington's disease, normal pressure hydrocephalus, brain tumor, progressive supranuclear palsy, seizure disorder, subdural hematoma, multiple sclerosis, or history of significant head trauma followed by persistent neurologic defaults or known structural brain or spinal abnormalities.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Assessing the incidence of early dementia
timeFrame: Change from baseline, hospital discharge (3 day average), 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Toronto
country: Canada
facility: Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network
state: Ontario
city: Toronto
country: Canada
facility: William Osler Health Centre
state: Ontario
city: Riga
country: Latvia
facility: Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital
Study officials:
affiliation: Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network
name: George Djaiani, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: