Effect of Postural Changes on Postoperative Hypoxemia

NCT ID: NCT07161817

Last Updated: 2026-01-14

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 1200 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2026-02-01
• Study Completion Date: 2028-10-01

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn which positioning strategy works better to prevent postoperative hypoxemia in surgical patients: semirecumbent positioning or lateral positioning. It will also learn about the safety and effectiveness of these two positioning approaches. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does semirecumbent positioning reduce the incidence of postoperative hypoxemia more effectively than lateral positioning? Does lateral positioning reduce the incidence of postoperative hypoxemia more effectively than semirecumbent positioning? What are the differences in patient comfort and recovery outcomes between these two positioning strategies? Researchers will compare semirecumbent positioning directly to lateral positioning to see which approach is more effective in preventing postoperative hypoxemia.

Participants will:

Be randomly assigned to either semirecumbent positioning or lateral positioning after surgery Have their oxygen levels and breathing monitored regularly during the postoperative period Receive standard post-surgical care with their assigned positioning strategy Be assessed for comfort levels and any positioning-related complications Have their recovery progress tracked throughout their hospital stay.

Conditions

Postoperative Hypoxemia; Position Differences

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: DOUBLE

Study Groups

Semirecumbent positioning

Patients in the Semirecumbent positioning were placed in the bed and the head of the bed was raised by 30 °, allowing flexibility based on patient comfort and surgical requirements.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Semirecumbent positioning

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Patients in the semi-recumbent position were placed in the bed and the head of the bed was raised by 30 °, allowing flexibility based on patient comfort and surgical requirements.

Lateral positioning

Patients allocated to lateral positioning were placed at 90° on a horizontal bed, supported with a pillow to maintain neutral alignment of the spine and avoid hyperextension or forward flexion of the neck. No preference was specified for left or right lateral decubitus positioning, allowing flexibility based on patient comfort and surgical requirements.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Lateral positioning

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Patients allocated to lateral positioning were placed at 90° on a horizontal bed, supported with a pillow to maintain neutral alignment of the spine and avoid hyperextension or forward flexion of the neck. No preference was specified for left or right lateral decubitus positioning, allowing flexibility based on patient comfort and surgical requirements.

Interventions

Lateral positioning

Patients allocated to lateral positioning were placed at 90° on a horizontal bed, supported with a pillow to maintain neutral alignment of the spine and avoid hyperextension or forward flexion of the neck. No preference was specified for left or right lateral decubitus positioning, allowing flexibility based on patient comfort and surgical requirements.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Semirecumbent positioning

Patients in the semi-recumbent position were placed in the bed and the head of the bed was raised by 30 °, allowing flexibility based on patient comfort and surgical requirements.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients aged 18 or above and 80 or below who received general anesthesia and intubation

• Patients aged 18 years and above, and 80 years and below, who received general anesthesia and intubation;

Exclusion Criteria

• Presence of hypotension or bradycardia upon entering the anesthesia recovery room;
• Preoperative hypoxemia;
• Surgical procedures where body position adjustment is not possible or is prohibited due to the nature of the surgery;
• Surgical procedures involving severe cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases, severe pulmonary diseases, intracranial hypertension, etc.;
• Intubation more than 3 times.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 80 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Yuhu Ma

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Yuhu Ma

Doctor

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Yatao Liu, Doctor

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Central Contacts

Yuhu Ma, Master

Role: CONTACT

mayh20@lzu.edu.cn

18419379740

References

Wang X, Guo K, Sun J, Yang Y, Wu Y, Tang X, Xu Y, Chen Q, Zeng S, Wang L, Liu S. Semirecumbent Positioning During Anesthesia Recovery and Postoperative Hypoxemia: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jun 3;7(6):e2416797. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.16797.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 38941098 (View on PubMed)

Ye H, Chu LH, Xie GH, Hua YJ, Lou Y, Wang QH, Xu ZX, Tang MY, Wang BD, Hu HY, Ying J, Yu T, Wang HY, Wang Y, Ye ZJ, Bao XF, Wang MC, Chen LY, Wang XX, Zhang XB, Huang CS, Wang J, Lu YP, Luo FQ, Zhou W, Wang CG, Cheng H, Liu WJ, Luo J, Wu YQ, Li RR, Wang D, Hou LQ, Shi L, Zhang J, Wang K, Pi X, Zhou R, Yang QQ, Wan PL, Li H, Wu SJ, Song SW, Cui P, Shu L, Islam N, Fang XM. Effect of lateral versus supine positioning on hypoxaemia in sedated adults: multicentre randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2025 Aug 19;390:e084539. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2025-084539.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 40829895 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Postoperative Hypoxemia

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id