An observational study in Postoperative Sore Throat, Bronchoscopy and Hoarseness, sponsored by Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Shanghai, China. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-26.
Sponsored by Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Shanghai, China · Observational
The goal of this observational study is to learn whether dexmedetomidine nasal spray is associated with a lower risk of postoperative sore throat in adult patients who underwent bronchoscopy under general anesthesia. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Is dexmedetomidine nasal spray associated with a lower incidence of sore throat after bronchoscopy? What is the average treatment effect of dexmedetomidine nasal spray on postoperative sore throat? Does the treatment effect differ across patient subgroups (treatment effect heterogeneity)? Researchers will compare patients who received dexmedetomidine nasal spray with patients who did not receive it to see if the nasal spray is associated with less postoperative sore throat, and whether some patients benefit more than others.
This is a two-center retrospective cohort study. No participants will be asked to do anything, and no interventions will be given. Existing medical records of patients who underwent bronchoscopy will be analyzed. The analysis follows a target trial emulation framework, which mimics a randomized trial using existing data, and uses statistical and machine learning methods to account for differences between patient groups.
Background and Objectives Postoperative sore throat after bronchoscopy, including throat pain, hoarseness, foreign body sensation, and dysphagia, is a common adverse event following bronchoscopic procedures performed under general anesthesia. It impairs patient comfort and delays postoperative recovery. Dexmedetomidine nasal spray is used perioperatively for sedation and anxiolysis, but evidence on its relationship with postoperative sore throat in routine clinical practice remains limited. Using real-world data within a target trial emulation (TTE) framework, this study investigates the association between dexmedetomidine nasal spray and postoperative sore throat after bronchoscopy, estimates its treatment effect, and explores heterogeneity of treatment effect (HTE).
Study Design This is a two-center retrospective cohort study of adult patients who underwent bronchoscopic procedures under general anesthesia. The study follows the TTE framework: a hypothetical target trial protocol was first specified and then emulated using observational data.
Statistical Analysis Plan Propensity scores will be estimated from baseline covariates, and overlap weighting will be used to estimate the average treatment effect in the overlap population . Heterogeneity of treatment effect will be explored using the R-learner, a machine learning-based meta-learner, to estimate conditional average treatment effects (CATE). Missing data and unmeasured confounding will be addressed through sensitivity analyses.
52 studies on the registry are indexed under Hoarseness; 9 are open to participants now.
Browse Hoarseness studies →Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Shanghai, China is the lead sponsor of 160 studies on the registry; 95 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Adult patients (aged ≥18 years) who underwent elective bronchoscopic procedures (diagnostic or therapeutic) under general anesthesia, with airway managed by an endotracheal tube or supraglottic airway device, at two tertiary hospitals between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2025. Patients were identified from the hospitals' electronic medical records and anesthesia information systems. Those who received preoperative dexmedetomidine nasal spray were compared with those who did not. For patients with multiple eligible procedures, only the first procedure was included.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
A score of how well the liver works in people with liver disease such as cirrhosis: class A is mild, B moderate and C severe.
Child-Pugh class
A score of how well the liver works in people with liver disease such as cirrhosis: class A is mild, B moderate and C severe.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Adult patients who underwent bronchoscopic procedures under general anesthesia and received dexmedetomidine nasal spray in addition to standard general anesthesia.
Drug: Dexmedetomidine Nasal Spray · Procedure: standard general anesthesia
Adult patients who underwent bronchoscopic procedures under general anesthesia with standard general anesthesia alone.
Procedure: standard general anesthesia
Preoperative administration of dexmedetomidine nasal spray before anesthesia induction in adult patients undergoing bronchoscopic procedures under general anesthesia.Dose varied according to routine practice. Administered in addition to routine general anesthesia, following routine clinical practice at each center.
Routine general anesthesia for bronchoscopic procedures, administered according to standard clinical practice at each center. Anesthetic agents and airway management followed routine practice and were not assigned by the study.
Incidence of Postoperative Sore Throat on Postoperative Day 1
Time frame: Postoperative day 1
Incidence of Postoperative Sore Throat at 1 Hour After Bronchoscopy
Time frame: 1 hour after the end of bronchoscopy
Patient Satisfaction Assessed by a 5-point Likert Scale on Postoperative Day 1
Patient satisfaction with perioperative care were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = very dissatisfied, 2 = dissatisfied, 3 = neutral, 4 = satisfied, 5 = very satisfied).
Time frame: Postoperative day 1
Rate of Postoperative ICU Admission
Time frame: Up to 30 days
Rate of Intraoperative Use of Two or More Cardiovascular Active Drugs
Time frame: From anesthesia induction to the end of the procedure
Incidence of Intraoperative Cardiovascular Adverse Events
Time frame: From anesthesia induction to the end of the procedure
Length of Hospital Stay
Time frame: Up to 30 days
Length of Stay in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
Time frame: Periprocedural
Plan to share: No — Individual participant data will not be shared because the data were obtained from the electronic medical records of two hospitals, and the ethics approval does not cover data sharing with third parties. Aggregated results and statistical analysis code may be made available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Oct 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2026, 2 months after the start.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Shanghai, China →