Discharge Readiness After Propofol with or without Esketamine for Flexible Bronchoscopy: A Randomized Non-Inferiority Trial.

Purpose: To determine whether low-dose esketamine combined with propofol is non-inferior to propofol alone for discharge readiness after outpatient flexible bronchoscopy. Patients and Methods: In this single-center, randomized, double-blind, non-inferiority trial, 246 adults aged 18 to 75 years with ASA physical status I to III scheduled for elective outpatient flexible bronchoscopy were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to propofol alone (propofol plus 0.9% saline; n = 82), propofol plus esketamine 0.1 mg/kg (n = 82), or propofol plus esketamine 0.2 mg/kg (n = 82). The primary endpoint was the proportion achieving discharge readiness (Modified Post-Anesthetic Discharge Scoring System [MPADSS] score ≥ 9) within 30 minutes of procedure completion; the non-inferiority margin was -18 percentage points. Secondary endpoints included propofol consumption, intraoperative cough severity, adverse events, and patient-reported recovery quality. Results: Both esketamine doses were non-inferior to propofol alone for discharge readiness: the risk difference was -3.0 percentage points (95% CI, -13.8 to 7.8; Conclusion: Adding low-dose esketamine to propofol maintained timely discharge readiness during outpatient flexible bronchoscopy. Among the secondary outcomes, esketamine at 0.2 mg/kg was associated with lower rates of hypotension and hypoxemia, although these exploratory findings warrant confirmation. Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05643066.