Evaluating sedation efficacy and perioperative safety of fospropofol disodium versus propofol in elderly patients undergoing elective TURP: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Fospropofol disodium is the first novel water-soluble propofol prodrug in China. After administration, it is mainly converted to propofol by alkaline phosphatase on the surface of endothelial cells to exert its pharmacological effects. Compared with propofol, fospropofol disodium has the characteristics of longer duration of action, lower incidence of injection pain and adverse events related to the respiratory and circulatory systems, and no adverse reactions related to lipid metabolism. At present, there are few reports on the safety and efficacy of fospropofol disodium in the induction and maintenance of general anesthesia. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of fospropofol disodium in routine anesthesia for elective surgery in the elderly, so as to provide new medication guidance for its application in the induction and maintenance stages of general anesthesia in the elderly population. Seventy elderly patients aged 65–85 years with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status II or III, scheduled for elective transurethral resection of the prostate under general anesthesia, will be enrolled. Patients will be randomly divided into the propofol group (group E) and the fospropofol disodium group (group F) using a random number table, with 35 cases in each group. Anesthesia induction: sufentanil 0.2–0.4 µg/kg and cisatracurium besilate 0.15 mg/kg will be administered intravenously. Group E will receive an intravenous bolus of propofol 1–1.5 mg/kg, while group F will receive an intravenous bolus of fospropofol disodium 10–15 mg/kg, both infused within 60 s. Tracheal intubation will be performed when the patient’s Modified Observer’s Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (MOAA/S) score decreases to 1 with BIS < 60 sustained for ≥3 min, followed by routine mechanical ventilation. For anesthesia maintenance, group E will receive continuous intravenous infusion of propofol 4–12 mg/(kg·h) and remifentanil 0.2–0.4 µg/(kg·min) via a syringe pump; group F will receive continuous intravenous infusion of fospropofol disodium 10–20 mg/(kg·h) and remifentanil 0.2–0.4 µg/(kg·min) via a syringe pump. During the operation, the infusion rates of maintenance anesthetics will be adjusted according to hemodynamic status to maintain blood pressure and heart rate fluctuations within 20% of the baseline values, and the Bispectral Index (BIS) value will be maintained between 40 and 60. After the operation, patients will be transferred to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). Primary outcomes of this study: success rate of sedation and time to onset of sedation. Secondary outcomes: (1) perioperative indicators, (2) hemodynamic indices at each time point, (3) adverse reactions. Elderly patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) are often complicated with multiple comorbidities, leading to a relatively high anesthetic risk. This trial takes the success rate of sedation and time to onset of sedation as the primary endpoints, to compare the application differences between fospropofol disodium and propofol. The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of fospropofol disodium in routine anesthesia for elective surgeries in the elderly population. The study was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trials Registry (ChiCTR2500115343) on December 24, 2025 ( http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=294899 ).