Anesthesia Management via an Automated Control System for Propofol, Remifentanil, and Rocuronium Compared to Management by Anesthesiologists: An Investigator-Initiated Study.

Abstract

We previously developed an automated total intravenous anesthesia control system that uses new closed-loop system algorithms to administer propofol, remifentanil, and rocuronium based on the bispectral index and train-of-four data. We recently improved this automated control system by adding a safety mechanism and using a modified monitoring device. Patients scheduled for elective surgery were randomly assigned to closed-loop feedback control (automatic group) or the manual administration of propofol, remifentanil, and rocuronium (manual group). The proportion of time during which the proper management of three-agent anesthesia was maintained during surgery was determined as the primary endpoint. The proportion of time during which the three components of sedation, analgesia, and muscle relaxation were adequately controlled was 87.21 ± 12.79% in the automatic group, which was non-inferior to the proportion of 65.19 ± 20.16% in the manual group (p < 0.001). Adverse events during the operative or postoperative observation periods were significantly less frequent in the automatic group (54 patients, 90.0%) than in the manual group (60 patients, 100.0%; p = 0.027). Our three-agent automated control system, which features an improved muscle relaxation monitor and safety mechanism added to the basic control algorithms, maintained sedation, analgesia, and muscle relaxation appropriately in a manner non-inferior to anesthesiologists without compromising safety.