Dexmedetomidine-esketamine and tDCS for Prevention of Neurocognitive Complications After Surgery

Neurocognitive complications, mainly delirium and neurocognitive disorders, are common cerebral complications in older patients after surgery and associated with worse outcomes. In previous studies, perioperative use of dexmedetomidine-esketamine combination improved analgesia and sleep quality after surgery. Perioperative use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) also improved sleep quality and reduced delirium occurrence early after surgery. This 2×2 factorial trial is designed to investigate the effects of perioperative dexmedetomidine-esketamine combination and tDCS on early postoperative neurocognitive recovery and delirium occurrence in older patients.

NCT Number	NCT07576517
Lead Sponsor	Peking University First Hospital Collaborators: Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medicial University, Zhejiang University, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital
Conditions	Older Patients, Surgery, Dexmedetomidine, Esketamine, Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders
Enrollment	1,160 participants
Start Date	2026-06
Primary Completion	2029-06 (estimated)
Study Completion	2030-06 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-05-12