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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.
Major elective noncardiac surgery under general anaesthesia
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More than 1.5 million major operations not involving the heart are performed in the NHS each year. General anaesthesia is most often given with an inhaled anaesthetic gas. A commonly used alternative is to give anaesthesia using anaesthetic drugs given into the veins, a technique called total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA). These two types of anaesthetic may have important differences in affecting how the body uses blood sugar for several days after surgery.
Higher blood sugar often occurs after surgery, making cells work less well. High blood sugar levels make inflammation and injury to important organs like the heart and brain worse and increase the risk of infections. Recovery after surgery is far slower if glucose levels are higher during and after the operation. Remarkably, for the vast majority of individuals who are not diabetic, blood sugar is not checked at all after surgery. This is because of the previous lack of available technology that can monitor blood sugar without the need for lots of unpleasant blood tests that require much more nursing care. The VITAL trial measures the effect of each anaesthetic technique by assessing recovery, complications and safety. This study is designed to add no extra steps/inconvenience for VITAL participants. It asks whether intravenous anaesthesia achieves more normal control of blood sugar than inhalational anaesthesia. If intravenous anaesthesia improves blood sugar control, we would expect to see fewer complications in individuals most at risk of developing higher blood sugar after major surgery.
Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.
The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:
You can take part if:
Current inclusion criteria as of 13/11/2024:
1. Patients aged 50 years and over
2. Elective major noncardiac surgery under general anaesthesia (as per PQIP
inclusion criteria)
3. Written informed consent for study partici
You may not be able to take part if:
Current exclusion criteria as of 13/11/2024:
1. Known contraindication to either total intravenous anaesthesia or inhalational anaesthesia2. Clinical refusal3. Procedures where the participant is not expected to survive for 30 days4. Previous participation and completion in the GlucoVITAL trial5. Patients unable to give informed consent or complete questionnaires
_____
Previous exclusion criteria:
1. Known contraindication to either total intravenous anaesthesia or inhalational anaesthesia2. Clinical refusal 3. Procedures where the participant is not expected to survive for 30 days4. Previous participation and completion in the VITAL trial5. Patients unable to give informed consent or complete questionnaires
Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.
Prof
Gareth
Ackland
+44 (0)20 3594 0351
g.ackland@qmul.ac.uk
The study is sponsored by Queen Mary University of London and funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.
Or CPMS 56485
You can print or share the study information with your GP/healthcare provider or contact the research team directly.
