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Postoperative Delirium (POD)NCT07271394

The Impact of Methylprednisolone Sodium Succinate on Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery: A Target Trial Emulation Study

An observational study of Postoperative Delirium (POD), run by Chinese PLA General Hospital at 1 site in China.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Glucocorticoids can be used to inhibit postoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome. They may reduce the risk of major complications and mortality. Previous studies on the effect of glucocorticoids on postoperative cognitive dysfunction may lack generalizability due to short follow-up periods for cognitive… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 65 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Postoperative Delirium (POD)
What is being tested?
Administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction and No administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction
How many people
25,800 participants
Where
1 siteChina
Study dates
1 Oct 2018to 1 Oct 2021
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

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 65 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Older adult

Study population: Patients aged ≥ 65 years undergoing abdominal surgery

Who may be able to join

  • 1、Age ≥ 65 years; 2、Patients undergoing abdominal surgery under general anesthesia, including gynecological, hepatobiliary, gastrointestinal, and urological surgeries.

Who cannot join

  • 1、Patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification ≥ Ⅳ (including Class Ⅳ);2、Patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) postoperatively; 3、Patients with a preoperative history of schizophrenia, epilepsy, or Parkinson's disease;4、Patients with diseases requiring hormone therapy for more than 7 days within 1 year prior to surgery; 5、Patients unable to communicate preoperatively (due to coma, severe dementia, or language/hearing impairment) and those with a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score < 26;6、Patients with any cerebrovascular event within the past 3 years; 7、Patients who underwent general anesthesia surgery within the past 3 months.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

China1 site
  • Chinese PLA General Hospital

    Beijing

Other trials in China

About this study

Glucocorticoids can be used to inhibit postoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome. They may reduce the risk of major complications and mortality. Previous studies on the effect of glucocorticoids on postoperative cognitive dysfunction may lack generalizability due to short follow-up periods for cognitive function after surgery, insufficient follow-up results of cognitive function throughout the entire hospitalization, and a single surgical approach. Clinical evidence provided by previous randomized controlled trials may be biased due to loss-to-follow-up rates caused by researchers' failure to timely follow up on cognitive dysfunction outcomes. Most previous randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of glucocorticoids on postoperative delirium have limitations, mainly including small sample sizes and limited statistical power. Given the high cost of conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials involving various types of perioperative abdominal surgeries in elderly patients and the practical difficulty of reducing loss-to-follow-up rates, there is an urgent need to find alternative approaches. In this study, we extracted data from the in-hospital electronic medical record system and conducted a target simulation trial based on the designed randomized controlled trial protocol investigating the effect of methylprednisolone sodium succinate on postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Using existing data, we analyzed whether administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during anesthesia induction has an impact on the incidence of postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

Being tested
Administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction, No administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction
Medical subject headings
Emergence Delirium

What participants receive

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

  • Administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia inductionDrug

    Administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction

  • No administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia inductionDrug

    No administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction

Study groups in NCT07271394
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Patients aged ≥ 65 years undergoing abdominal surgeryNot described
Receives: Drug: Administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction; Drug: No administration of methylprednisolone sodium succinate during general anesthesia induction

What is being measured

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

  1. Incidence of postoperative delirium within 3 days postoperatively

    Measured: within 3 days postoperatively

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Incidence of postoperative delirium within 7 days postoperatively

    Measured: within 7 days postoperatively

Timeline

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

  1. First posted9 Dec 2025
  2. Study start1 Oct 2018
  3. Primary completion30 Sep 2020
  4. Study completion1 Oct 2021

Resources

More details

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

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Retrospective
Enrolment
25,800 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07271394
Sponsor's protocol ID
YXM02
Status last verified
Oct 2018
First submitted
26 Nov 2025
Last updated
9 Dec 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Postoperative Delirium (POD), run by Chinese PLA General Hospital at 1 site in China.

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 1 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: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Dec 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

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.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

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

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Incidence of postoperative delirium within 3 days postoperatively (time frame: within 3 days postoperatively). 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 9 Dec 2025.

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