Opioid-Free Anesthesia Improved the Quality of Recovery After Thyroidectomy Through Pre-Emptive and Preventive Analgesia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Opioid-free anesthesia (OFA) is increasingly being adopted to provide effective analgesia and reduce opioid-related adverse events. However, existing literature on OFA remains contentious, and its impact on postoperative recovery following thyroidectomy has not been evaluated. Therefore, we examined the hypothesis that OFA enhances the early quality of recovery in patients undergoing thyroid surgery. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 204 adult patients undergoing thyroidectomy were randomly assigned to receive either OFA (esketamine, dexmedetomidine, and bilateral superficial cervical plexus blocks) or opioid-based anesthesia (OBA, sufentanil and remifentanil). The primary outcome was the quality of recovery on the first postoperative day, assessed using the quality of recovery-15 scale. Secondary outcomes included sleep quality score, area under the curve of pain intensity. Anesthesia-related complications were also recorded. Results: On the first postoperative day, the OFA group had a significantly higher quality of recovery-15 score versus the OBA group (137.6 [5.6] vs 128.2 [10.5], mean difference = 9.4, 95% CI, 7.0-11.7, Conclusion: We showed that with a pre-emptive and preventive analgesia effect, OFA improved quality of recovery, sleep quality, pain, and postoperative nausea and vomiting after thyroidectomy. However, a prolonged emergence recovery was observed when patients receiving OFA strategy, warranting further investigation to optimize agent design and monitoring method to balance the intraoperative anesthesia depth. Name of Trial Registry: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Registration Number: ChiCTR2300070794; URL: https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=196152.