A study of hemodynamic effects, postoperative recovery, and safety of esketamine (right handed) during flexible bronchoscopy under general anesthesia.

OBJECTIVE: Flexible bronchoscopy during general anesthesia has become an indispensable tool. Anesthetics are widely utilized in flexible bronchoscopy (FB). This study delved into the application value of a subanesthetic dose of esketamine (ES) (right handed) in flexible bronchoscopy during general anesthesia.

METHODS: A sample of 160 patients who underwent flexible bronchoscopy during general anesthesia were selected as study subjects and were equally divided into the control and ES groups, with clinical baseline data (age, sex, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists grading) collected. Hemodynamic parameters (mean artery pressure, heart rate, pulse blood oxygen saturation) at different time points, the onset time of anesthesia, surgery time, analgesia maintenance time, anesthesia awakening time, and perioperative adverse reactions were recorded. Visual analogue scale (VAS), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and quality of recovery-40 (QoR-40) scales were utilized for assessing post-surgery satisfaction, cognitive function, and post-surgery early recovery quality.

RESULTS: The hemodynamics were stable at each time point, but patients in the ES group were more stable than those in the control group. Patients in the ES group exhibited faster onset and awakening time of anesthesia, longer duration of analgesia, and lower total incidence of adverse reactions versus the control group. The patients' QoR-40 total scores in the ES group were improved versus the control group at 1 day after surgery.

CONCLUSION: Compared with fentanyl, the use of ES (right handed) in flexible bronchoscopy during general anesthesia produces more stable hemodynamics, faster onset and recovery time of anesthesia, longer duration of analgesia, lower incidence of adverse reactions, and improved early postoperative recovery quality in patients.