ArticleFrontiers in medicine2026
Remimazolam is associated with superior cerebral and pulmonary protection over propofol in elderly thoracic surgery: a real-world study validated by propensity score matching.
Article in Frontiers in medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Selecting the optimal anesthetic regimen to mitigate postoperative cognitive decline and pulmonary complications in elderly patients undergoing thoracic surgery remains a clinical challenge. While propofol is widely used, remimazolam offers potential advantages due to its hemodynamic stability and rapid clearance. This study employed rigorous propensity score matching (PSM) to compare the real-world outcomes of these two intravenous anesthetics in a high-risk surgical cohort. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients aged ≥65 years undergoing elective VATS lobectomy (2020-2023). Patients received either remimazolam- or propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia under a standardized, driving pressure-guided individualized PEEP protocol. To address significant baseline imbalances and confounding by indication, we performed 1:1 propensity score matching using a multivariable logistic regression model incorporating 13 pre-specified covariates (e.g., age, comorbidities, pulmonary/cognitive function). Balance was assessed via standardized mean differences. The matched cohort was used for all outcome analyses. Results: From 342 eligible patients, PSM created 122 well-balanced pairs ( Conclusion: Using robust propensity score matching to emulate a randomized comparison, this study provides real-world evidence that a remimazolam-based anesthetic strategy, integrated with lung-protective ventilation, is associated with significantly better cerebral oxygenation, accelerated neurocognitive and pulmonary recovery, and lower rates of key postoperative complications compared to propofol in elderly patients undergoing VATS lobectomy. These findings highlight the clinical value of remimazolam within enhanced recovery pathways for geriatric thoracic surgery.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.