Ethics and registration
This study was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University (reference number 2021-024-02, 20/5/2021) and registered at http://www.chictr.org.cn (ChiCTR2100051912, 9/10/2021). The study protocol was performed in the relevant guidelines. The trail was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Institutional Research Board of the authorized hospital. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients.
Patient inclusion and exclusion criteria
At present, there are few reports on applying remimazolam in regional anesthesia. Considering the sexual needs of patients, the intraoperative use of tourniquets, and the impact of pain on hemodynamics, we designed a single-arm trial and limited the study subjects to elderly patients who planned to undergo TURP with spinal anesthesia. The study was carried out in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College. Thirty patients who were scheduled to receive elective TURP were recruited. To ensure the test homogeneity, the inclusion criteria of the patients were age between 65 and 80 years old, American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) physical status I or II and a body mass index (BMI) between 19 and 30 kg/m2. Patients with history of alcoholism or allergy to local or general anesthetics, puncture wound infection, coagulation disorders, psychiatric or neurological diseases were excluded.
Pretreatment and technique
We diluted 36 mg of remimazolam tosilate (developed by Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co. Ltd., China, 201031AK, YBH03052019) with 72 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride injection to a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml in schering bottles. We prepared 5 ml of 2% lidocaine (Hubei Tiansheng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.,China, H42021839) for local anesthesia at the puncture site and 3 ml of 0.5% ropivacaine (AstraZeneca AB®, H20140764, LBUD) for subarachnoid block. Combined spinal-epidural anesthesia puncture was performed with AS-E/SII needles (Jiangxi Hongda Medical Equipment Group Ltd., China; epidural anesthesia needle: 1.6×80 mm; subarachnoid anesthesia puncture needle: 0.5×113 mm, 20200812, 20150075). Notably, since isobaric solutions of ropivacaine were chosen for subarachnoid block, we diluted ropivacaine with patients’ own cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The above-mentioned concentration of ropivacaine was a diluted one.
All patients fasted for at least 8 hours before the surgery and were made sure by anesthesiologists that no unnecessary substance was given preoperatively, including benzodiazepines and alcohol. On arrival in the operating room, patients were connected to a monitor (the Bene View N15 OR monitor, Mindray Biomedical Electronics Co., Shenzhen, China ) for continuous monitoring of electrocardiogram (ECG), noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) including systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate (HR). The monitoring was repeated three times, and the mean of each indicator was determined as the baseline value. Ideally, patients breathed in room air throughout the course without inhaling pure oxygen. For patient safety, we were prepared for artificial ventilation. When patients’ vital signs were stable, peripheral veins were punctured to insert indwelling catheter. Then, 300 ml of Ringer’s solution was administered intravenously.
Considering that the Bispectral Index (BIS) was originally developed for propofol, and studies have shown that the correlation between depth of sedation and the BIS index was weaker for the benzodiazepine agonist midazolam[9-12], we decided to use Modified Observer’s Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (MOAA/S) scale alone to evaluate the depth of sedation[13].
Spinal anesthesia
Spinal puncture was performed with AS-E/SII needles at L3/4 in lateral decubitus position. After confirmation of clear and free-flow CSF, 3 ml of 0.5% ropivacaine was administered intrathecally over 10-15 seconds. The sensory block level of spinal anesthesia was evaluated every 2 min by pin-prick tests. After the peak sensory block level was determined, we used a modified Bromage Scale [14](Table 1) to assess the degree of motor block. The lithotomy position was done for surgical preparation when the degree of anesthesia met surgery demand.
Table 1 Modified Bromage Scale[14]
Score
|
Criteria
|
1
|
Complete block(unable to move knee or feet)
|
2
|
Almost complete block(able to move feet only)
|
3
|
Partial block(able to move knee only)
|
4
|
Detectable weakness of hip flexion while supine(full flexion of knee)
|
5
|
No detectable weakness of hip flexion while supine
|
Intervention and observed indicators
We used a modified Dixon’ up-and-down method to determine the and ED50 and ED95 of remimazolam tosilate to obtain a moderate sedation level of an MOAA/S 3/2[15]. Based on previous literature and our pilot experiments, the initial remimazolam tosilate dose was 0.1 mg/kg[16]. After completing the infusion, a second anesthesiologist evaluated the MOAA/S scales and vital signs every 1-min interval for the 10min. If the patient responded only after his name was spoken loudly and/or repeatedly or responded only after mild prodding or shaking (MOAA/S scales 3/2) at any time point of assessment, we defined it as a successful sedation (Table 2). If targeted sedation (1< MOAA/S scale <4) was not obtained, we defined it as a failed sedation. According to the responses, the subsequent dose of RT was increased or decreased by 0.01 mg/kg for the next patient in a stepwise manner. Recruitment continued until ten independent pairs (from successful sedation to failed sedation) would give a reliable estimation of the moderate sedation dose of remimazolam tosilate.
Mean arterial pressure (MAP), RR, HR, and SpO2 were recorded every minute. When a patient’s HR was less than 50 beats per minute (bradycardia) or whose MAP was lower than 20% of the baseline value (hypotension), he would be injected with 6 mg of ephedrine or 1 mg of atropine intravenously. If a patient's SpO2 was less than 90%, emergency ventilation would be performed including oxygen delivery via a face mask.
Table 2 Modified Observer’s Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (MOAA/S) scale[15]
Scale
|
MOAA/S Scale
|
0
1
|
Does not respond to painful trapezius squeeze
Responds only after painful trapezius squeeze
|
2
|
Responds only after mild prodding or shaking
|
3
|
Responds only after name is called loudly and/or repeatedly
|
4
|
Lethargic response to name spoken in normal tone
|
5 (alert)
|
Responds readily to name spoken in normal tone
|
Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics 25™ (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, U.S.A.). Investigations were carried out by Dixon’s up-and-down method. Up-and-down data were analyzed using the probit analysis to interpolate ED50 (95% C.I.) and ED95 (95% C.I.). Values were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation (SD), mean (95% C.I.), or as numbers. The correlation of the MOAA/S scale and the dose of remimazolam tosilate was analyzed by a binary logistic regression model. The sample size was based on Dixon’s method, which requires at least six pairs of failure-success to calculate half maximal effective concentration (EC50)[17]. Patients were recruited until ten pairs of consecutive up and down (success and failure) adjustment of the remimazolam tosilate dose was achieved. Statistical significance was defined by a P value < 0.05.