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Comparison of Emergence Agitation Between Remimazolam- and Propofol-Based Anesthetic Induction in Patients Undergoing
Ji-Yoon Jung1, Hwang-Ju You1, Woojin Kwon1
1Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Konyang University Myunggok Medical Research Institute, Konyang University College of Medicine, 158 Gwangeodong-ro, Seo-gu, Daejeon 35365, Republic of Korea.
Background:
Emergence agitation is a clinically relevant phenomenon during recovery from general anesthesia. This study aimed to compare the effects of remimazolam and propofol as anesthetic induction agents on emergence agitation.
Methods:
This retrospective propensity score-matched study included adult patients undergoing elective transurethral endoscopic urologic surgery under general anesthesia. Patients were divided into remimazolam- or propofol-based induction groups. The primary outcome was the incidence of emergence agitation, defined as a Ricker Sedation-Agitation Scale (RSAS) score ≥ 5 during emergence. Secondary outcomes included the severity of emergence agitation, extubation time, postoperative pain scores, use of analgesics or antiemetics in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and risk factor identification.
Results:
A total of 239 patients were analyzed before matching, and 99 matched pairs were generated. After matching, the incidence of emergence agitation was significantly lower in the remimazolam group compared with the propofol group (13.1% vs. 36.4%; P = 0.001). Remimazolam-based induction was independently associated with a reduced risk of emergence agitation (odds ratio 0.23, 95% confidence interval 0.09-0.56; P < 0.001). The distribution of RSAS scores demonstrated reduced severity of agitation in the remimazolam group. Extubation time, postoperative pain scores, and PACU medication did not differ between groups. Younger age and male sex were identified as independent risk factors.
Conclusions:
Remimazolam-based anesthetic induction reduced incidence and severity of emergence agitation compared with propofol, without delaying extubation or impairing early postoperative recovery. Remimazolam may represent a favorable induction agent for adult patients at risk for emergence agitation.
