Anesthesia Clinical Trials

This is a prospective, randomized, controlled, non-inferiority study of patients undergoing tonsil surgeries at Boston Children's Hospital Waltham. The overall aim is to evaluate the efficacy of an opioid anesthetic plan (morphine, ketorolac, and acetaminophen versus an opioid sparing anesthetic plan (dexmedetomidine, ketorolac and acetaminophen) for perioperative analgesia and recovery time in patients undergoing tonsillectomies and tonsillotomies at Boston Children's Hospital Waltham. Secondary measures include rescue opioids administered in post-anesthesia care unit (PACU), re-operation secondary to bleeding, emergence delirium, post-operative nausea and vomiting, intraoperative hemodynamics, intraoperative vasopressor administration, and length of procedure. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of SafeLM as a primary airway device and as a conduit for intubation with and without the use of a bougie Read Less

The purpose of this study is to assess and compare the conditions for tracheal intubation obtained with Modified Time Principle Induction (MTPI) and that obtained with classic induction (CI). This study will compare the efficiency of tracheal intubation with the two induction techniques, as well as evaluate for potential adverse events. Read Less

The researchers expect to gain a deeper understanding of mental function during different levels of anesthesia, and to evaluate if the use of ultrasonic brain stimulation accelerates return to consciousness. Propofol is FDA approved for use in patients undergoing an anesthetic for medical treatment but is not approved for use in healthy volunteers. Read Less

Traditionally, general anesthesia is maintained with inhalational anesthesia (GAS), but there is a gap in knowledge regarding whether intravenous anesthesia (IV) can prevent deleterious postoperative outcomes in the geriatric surgical population. The goal of this clinical trial is to determine whether intravenous anesthesia (IV) leads to a decreased incidence of postoperative delirium (POD), postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), and functional decline, and improved patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in older adults undergoing non-cardiac surgery when compared to the standard inhalational anesthesia (GAS). This single-center, 1:1 randomized, double-blind (patient & outcome assessor) clinical trial will compare inhalational vs. intravenous anesthesia on POD, POCD, functional status, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and blood-based biomarkers in older patients undergoing elective, inpatient, non-cardiac surgery. Upon enrollment, 260 women and men ≥ 70 years undergoing elective noncardiac surgery under general anesthesia will be randomized to 2 groups: TIVA or GAS. Read Less

A comparison of two anesthetic techniques for total knee replacements: (1) Peri-Articular Injection (PAI), local infiltration between the popliteal artery and capsule of the knee block (IPACK) and single-shot adductor canal block (ACB) vs. (2) PAI, IPACK and continuous adductor canal block catheter (ACC). Read Less

Endotracheal intubation requires significant training and expertise. This experience can be quite stressful for novice users. To accelerate the learning curve of newly enrolled trainees to assess and secure airway, the investigators propose supplementing current training techniques with access to an airway video library consisting of real- life clinical videos of airway and endotracheal intubations. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of acute pain on long-term memory and conditioned physiologic responses in the presence and absence of low dose sevoflurane. Functional magnetic resonance imaging will be used to identify the neural correlates of these phenomena. The study will occur over 2 visits and involves no long-term follow up. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to understand changes in heart function (how the heart pumps blood) and blood flow in people who receive general anesthesia during surgery. The researchers are particularly interested in the heart function and blood flow changes in people who experience low blood pressure (hypotension) after receiving anesthesia. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to characterize the pharmacokinetic (PK) and safety profile of anesthetics and analgesics in children and adolescents. Read Less

To discover if a positive description of the procedure for an epidural can reduce the overall pain score associated with the procedure. Read Less

General anesthesia (GA) is a medically induced state of unresponsiveness and unconsciousness, which millions of people experience every year. Despite its ubiquity, a clear and consistent picture of the brain circuits mediating consciousness and responsiveness has not emerged. Studies to date are limited by lack of direct recordings in human brain during medically induced anesthesia. Our overall hypothesis is that the current model of consciousness, originally proposed to model disorders and recovery of consciousness after brain injury, can be generalized to understand mechanisms of consciousness more broadly. This will be studied through three specific aims. The first is to evaluate the difference in anesthesia sensitivity in patients with and without underlying basal ganglia pathology. Second is to correlate changes in brain circuitry with induction and emergence from anesthesia. The third aim is to evaluate the effects of targeted deep brain stimulation on anesthesia induced loss and recovery of consciousness. This study focuses on experimentally studying these related brain circuits by taking advantage of pathological differences in movement disorder patient populations undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. DBS is a neurosurgical procedure that is used as treatment for movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, and provides a mechanism to acquire brain activity recordings in subcortical structures. This study will provide important insight by using human data to shed light on the generalizability of the current model of consciousness. The subject's surgery for DBS will be prolonged by up to 40 minutes in order to record the participant's brain activity and their responses to verbal and auditory stimuli. Read Less