Xu-Lin Wang,1,* Ling-Ling Dai,2,* Yan-Na Li,1 Jian-Wen Zhang,1 Ming-Cui Qu,1 Yao-Yao Zhou,1 Na Xing1 

1Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Respiration, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Na Xing, Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8613949095172, Email 16427485@qq.com

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of remimazolam and propofol regarding postoperative anesthesia satisfaction in patients undergoing outpatient gynecological surgery.
Patients and Methods: This was a single-center, open-label, non-inferiority, randomized clinical trial. Patients aged ≥ 18 years who underwent outpatient gynecological surgery with sedation were enrolled. Participants were randomly assigned to be sedated with remimazolam or propofol. The primary endpoint was the immediate postoperative anesthesia satisfaction score, evaluated through the Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale (ISAS).
Results: 168 patients were randomly allocated to either the remimazolam group (n = 84) or the propofol group (n = 84). The mean (standard deviation) ISAS scores immediately after surgery were 1.7 (0.6) for the remimazolam group and 2.0 (0.7) for the propofol group (difference, – 0.2; 97.5% confidence interval [CI]: – 0.5 to – 0.0; p = 0.02), indicating non-inferiority. The length of post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) stay was longer in the remimazolam group than in the propofol group (27.6 [9.1] min vs 22.4 [7.0] min; difference, 5.2 [95% CI: 2.7 to 7.6] min; p < 0.001). High-intensity injection pain was less frequently observed in the remimazolam group than in the propofol group (3.6% vs 45.2%; difference, – 41.7% [95% CI: – 54.2% to – 29.1%]; p < 0.001). The nausea score was higher in the remimazolam group immediately after surgery than in the propofol group. Pain, nausea, sleep quality, anxiety, and depression scores were higher in the remimazolam group than in the propofol group on postoperative day 1. The incidence of adverse events and other secondary endpoints was comparable between the two groups.
Conclusion: Remimazolam was non-inferior to propofol regarding postoperative anesthesia satisfaction in patients undergoing outpatient gynecological surgery. Therefore, it should be considered as a new sedation alternative in such procedures.

Keywords: remimazolam, propofol, patient satisfaction, outpatient gynecological surgery, sedation