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Steno-occlusive DiseasePhase 4NCT07597109

Effect of Dexmedetomidine on Hemodynamic Stability in Carotid Endarterectomy: Reduced Norepinephrine Use and Propofol Dosing Via Central Sympatholytic Action

A Phase 4 study testing dexmedetomidine to the standard treatment and Standard anaesthesia with propofol with co-administration of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol with Dexmedetomidine (bolus 0.4 mcg/kg over 10 minutes followed by an continuous infusion with 0.4 mcg/kg/h un in people with Steno-occlusive Disease, run by Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern.

Not yet recruiting

Opening soon. The study is approved but enrolment has not started yet. Sites may already take enquiries.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

1. Objective and Selection We refer to our research project as the "research project" in this information sheet. If you participate, you will be a participant. In this research project, we aim to investigate the effect of the medication dexmedetomidine on blood pressure during surgery on your carotid artery. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Steno-occlusive Disease
What is being tested?
dexmedetomidine to the standard treatment and Standard anaesthesia with propofol with co-administration of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol with Dexmedetomidine (bolus 0.4 mcg/kg over 10 minutes followed by an continuous infusion with 0.4 mcg/kg/h un
Type of treatment
Injection or infusion
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
44 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
1 Sep 2026to 30 Sep 2028
Phase
Phase 4
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • age ≥18 years
  • ASA physical status 1-4
  • written informed consent provided.

Who cannot join

  • Age <18 years, Rapid sequence induction needed for surgery, higher grade atrioventricular block without pacemaker, severe hypovolaemia or bradycardia, uncontrolled hyper or hypotension, hypersensibility concerning the active substance Dexmedetomidine or any other component, serve liver disease, known malignant hyperthermia, cardiovascular instability or severe heart failure (EF ≤ 30% or > NYHA III), limited peripheral autonomic activity, pregnancy, rejection or lack of consent of the patient.

Trial locations and contacts

No sites are listed yet. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

About this study

Official title: Does the Co-administration of Dexmedetomidine Improve Hemodynamic Stability During Carotid Endarterectomy (CEA) Under General Anaesthesia? A Single-Centre Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.

  1. Objective and Selection We refer to our research project as the "research project" in this information sheet. If you participate, you will be a participant. In this research project, we aim to investigate the effect of the medication dexmedetomidine on blood pressure during surgery on your carotid artery. We are inviting you because all individuals undergoing carotid artery surgery may participate.
  2. General Information Due to your narrowing of the carotid artery, you require a planned procedure under general anesthesia. During this, your circulatory system and heart function will be continuously monitored through ongoing measurements to constantly track your condition. At the start of general anesthesia, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and blood pressure will be monitored. Strong painkillers and anesthetic agents will then be administered for the general anesthesia. Additional medications will be given to maintain the anesthesia. Your condition will be closely and continuously monitored throughout the general anesthesia. At the end of the surgery, the anesthetic agents will be gradually reduced, allowing you to awaken from the anesthesia. In this context, we want to examine whether the additional administration of dexmedetomidine during carotid artery surgery reduces blood pressure fluctuations that may occur during such anesthesia. The medication dexmedetomidine is approved for the Swiss market by Swissmedic and is commonly used today in many areas of anesthesia and intensive care medicine. It is even administered to pediatric patients in anesthesia. The goal of continuous dexmedetomidine administration during surgery is twofold: to reduce the need for other anesthetic agents while simultaneously minimizing blood pressure fluctuations that may arise during different surgical phases. The scientific question is: Does additional administration of dexmedetomidine influence the intraoperative hemodynamic course and thus the clinical outcome after surgery? The study will be conducted over approximately 24 months at Inselspital Bern (single-center) with 44 patients. We are conducting this study in accordance with Swiss laws and all internationally recognized guidelines. The responsible cantonal ethics committee (KEK Bern, Murtenstrasse, Bern) has reviewed and approved the study. A description of this study is also available on the website of the Federal Office of Public Health: www.kofam.ch.
  3. Procedure The planned surgery will be performed independently of this study. Upon the patient's arrival in the operating room, they will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will serve as the control group and receive standard general anesthesia according to our current hospital guidelines. The second group will receive the standard anesthesia plus the study medication dexmedetomidine in a precisely defined dose. Group allocation will be randomized and blinded (not disclosed to participants). The number of patients in both groups will be equal. Both groups will be treated and monitored in accordance with the recommendations and standards of the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine at Inselspital Bern, as well as those of the Swiss Society for Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (SSAPM). Hemodynamic and cardiac function parameters will be closely monitored and recorded for all study participants. These data will be collected by the attending anesthesiologist.

At a precisely defined time point during the surgery (achievement of "burst suppression"), administration of the study medication will be stopped, and anesthesia will be adjusted according to surgical progress. After emergence from general anesthesia, you will be immediately assessed and then transferred to the recovery unit. During your stay on the recovery unit, circulatory parameters and your neurological status will be assessed at regular intervals.

Prior to transfer to the regular ward the following day, a questionnaire regarding your neurological status will be completed, and all medications administered during your recovery unit stay will be recorded. The study will then be finished for all participating patients.

Read the detailed description

Hemodynamic stability is paramount during, and after carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Maintenance of cerebral perfusion pressure is required before, and during cross-clamping of the internal carotid artery (ICA) to prevent ischemia. After declamping, arterial hypertension must be avoided to prevent cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS), a rare, but serious complication after cerebral revascularisation procedures. CHS is associated with increased arterial blood pressure and characterised by headaches, neurological deficits, and seizures not caused by cerebral ischemia.

Recently, our group has demonstrated the significant propofol-sparing effect of the centrally acting alpha agonist dexmedetomidine during CEA. We also found significantly decreased requirements for the vasopressor norepinephrine, which may be well explained by the propofol sparing effect of dexmedetomidine in addition to its peripheral alpha-agonistic action (5).

Dexmedetomidine is known to exert a biphasic effect on arterial blood pressure (ABP); at higher concentrations, or when administered as an intravenous bolus, dexmedetomidine increases vascular resistance via peripheral alpha-adren-ergic receptors. After prolonged administration, and at lower concentrations, its central sympatholytic effects prevail (6-8), which may predispose dexmedetomidine as a well-suited adjunct to general anaesthesia for CEA. Recently, low-dose dexmedetomidine has been found to prevent CHS after stenting of the ICA (9).

In addition to its favorable hemodynamic profile, other beneficial effects of dexmedetomidine for CEA have been reported. Frequently, patients undergoing CEA have suffered recent stroke, which itself represents a high risk of delirium (POD) (10). In 700 elderly patients undergoing non-cardiac interventions8, low-dose dexmedetomidine was found to reduce the incidence of delirium from 23% to 9%. Moreover, there is growing evidence for neuroprotective effects of dexmedetomidine in the context of ischemia and reperfusion5,6 Proposed mechanisms include modulation of neuroinflammation, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and synaptic plasticity via the α2-adrenergic receptor (11).

Our previous study was designed to measure the effects of dexmedetomidine on intraoperative requirements of propofol. While the decreased requirements for norepinephrine were clinically significant, it was not defined as primary outcome measure. Also, most of the parameters have been collected only during the immediate perioperative period. The only assessment on postoperative day 1 was CAM-ICU for delirium.

The main purpose of the present follow-up study is to measure the effects of dexmedetomidine on systemic haemodynamics during, and after CEA, with a particular focus on 1) maintenance of cerebral perfusion pressure before and during cross-clamping of the ICA and 2) maintenance of an upper limit of systolic arterial blood pressure for prevention of CHS.

To evaluate the haemodynamic stability during and after CEA with co-administration of dexmedetomidine compared to a standard therapy.

Being tested
dexmedetomidine to the standard treatment, Standard anaesthesia with propofol with co-administration of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol with Dexmedetomidine (bolus 0.4 mcg/kg over 10 minutes followed by an continuous infusion with 0.4 mcg/kg/h un

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • dexmedetomidine to the standard treatmentDrug

    Standard anaesthesia with propofol with co-administration of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol with Dexmedetomidine (bolus 0.4 mcg/kg over 10 minutes followed by an continuous infusion with 0.4 mcg/kg/h until burst suppression will be reached) in conjunction with electrophysiological studies (somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs))

  • Standard anaesthesia with propofol with co-administration of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol with Dexmedetomidine (bolus 0.4 mcg/kg over 10 minutes followed by an continuous infusion with 0.4 mcg/kg/h unOther

    Standard anaesthesia with Propofol in conjunction with electrophysiological studies (somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and motor evoked potentials (MEPs)).

Study groups in NCT07597109
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Co-Administration of DexmedetomidineExperimentalthe participant in this group will recieve the standard anaesthesia care and in addition dexmedetomidine, First with a bolus of 0.4üg/kg over 10 min and then with a perfusor 0.4üg/kg/h during the hole operation
Receives: Drug: dexmedetomidine to the standard treatment
control groupOtherthe control group recieve the standard medical care during th operation
Receives: Other: Standard anaesthesia with propofol with co-administration of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol with Dexmedetomidine (bolus 0.4 mcg/kg over 10 minutes followed by an continuous infusion with 0.4 mcg/kg/h un

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Primary study outcome

    Primary study outcome are to evaluate the dose of Noradrenaline during CEA with EEG burst suppression (measured and interpreted by the anaesthes¬iologist) for the co-administration of Dexmedetomidine in combination with Propofol compared to Propofol alone as the standard therapy.

    Measured: 2 years

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted19 May 2026
  2. Study start1 Sep 2026 (estimated)
  3. Primary completion1 Sep 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion30 Sep 2028 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
Participants are assigned to one of two groups in parallel for the duration of the study, the control group will receive the standardtherapy and the verum group will recieve additionally dexmedetomidine
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
44 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07597109
Sponsor's protocol ID
2025-00592
Other IDs
2025-00592, 2025
Status last verified
May 2025
First submitted
12 May 2026
Last updated
19 May 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 4 study testing dexmedetomidine to the standard treatment and Standard anaesthesia with propofol with co-administration of Dexmedetomidine and Propofol with Dexmedetomidine (bolus 0.4 mcg/kg over 10 minutes followed by an continuous infusion with 0.4 mcg/kg/h un in people with Steno-occlusive Disease, run by Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 19 May 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Christian cv Vetter, MD ((0) 31 664 37 76 ext. +41, christian.vetter@insel.ch), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Primary study outcome (time frame: 2 years). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 19 May 2026.

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