Cardiothoracic & vascular anesthesia
Effect of the orexin receptor antagonist, suvorexant, on sleep architecture in the early postoperative period following cardiac surgery: a randomized controlled trial
Authors' conclusion
Among patients recovering in the ICU who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, the suvorexant treatment did not affect wakefulness after sleep onset or post-operative delirium.
Study context
- Population
- Adults admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after cardiac surgery, two university-based cardiac ICUs
- Participants
- 100 adults
- Comparison
- Suvorexant 20 mg once daily orally vs placebo
- Suvorexantn = 49
- Placebon = 51reference
- Primary endpoint
- Wakefulness after persistent sleep onset (WASO), EEG-recorded
- Follow-up
- First night after extubation
Methodological detailsdouble-blind, multicentre, Enrollment March 2020 to February 2025
- Double-blind
- Multicentre
- Enrollment March 2020 to February 2025
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Nighttime WASO (EEG)
- Suvorexant vs Placebo: P = 0.33
Further findings
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| Total sleep time (EEG) · first night after extubationNot significantly different | P = 0.92 |
Rescue medication use (melatonin, dexmedetomidine, benzodiazepine)
- No significant difference between groups
Subjective sleep quality, delirium incidence, delirium-free days
- Did not differ between the two groups
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Effect of the orexin receptor antagonist, suvorexant, on sleep architecture in the early postoperative period following cardiac surgery: a randomized controlled trial. Crit Care. Published 23 June 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →