Fujian Provincial Hospital

Low-Dose Esketamine Preserves Discharge Readiness and Reduces Propofol Consumption in Outpatient Bronchoscopy

- Adding low-dose esketamine (0.1 or 0.2 mg/kg) to propofol sedation met non-inferiority criteria for discharge readiness within 30 minutes in a 246-patient randomized trial. - Both esketamine doses significantly reduced total propofol consumption by 20% and 28%, respectively, and lowered intraoperative cough severity. - Esketamine at 0.2 mg/kg was associated with significantly lower rates of hypotension (12% vs 51%) and hypoxemia (4% vs 21%) compared with propofol alone. - No increase in neuropsychiatric adverse events was observed, and recovery quality across all domains was comparable among groups through 72 hours.