PRO STRESS Trial: Proactive Low-Dose Norepinephrine to Reduce Intraoperative Fluid Administration in Patients at High-Risk for Postoperative Pulmonary Complications Undergoing Laparoscopic Abdominal Surgery

Summary

Intraoperative hypotension is commonly treated with fluid administration; however, excessive fluid therapy may contribute to postoperative pulmonary complications. This randomized double-blind controlled trial evaluates whether proactive administration of fixed low-dose norepinephrine reduces intraoperative crystalloid administration while maintaining hemodynamic stability in high-risk patients undergoing laparoscopic abdominal surgery. One hundred and thirty patients will be randomized to receive either norepinephrine infusion (0.03 µg/kg/min) or placebo from induction until skin closure within a protocolized hemodynamic strategy guided by mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure variation.

Timeline

Start

2026-07-15

Primary completion

2026-10

Completion

2026-11

Publications

• Results Persichini R, Lai C, Teboul JL, Adda I, Guerin L, Monnet X. Venous return and mean systemic filling pressure: physiology and clinical applications. Crit Care. 2022 May 24;26(1):150. doi: 10.1186/s13054-022-04024-x.
• Results Felippe VA, Codeceira R, Irigaray M, Sckaff M, Wegner B, Nascimento T, Darcy C, Dutra L, Santiago B, Buchmann J, Lessa MA. Non-invasive goal-directed fluid therapy with the pleth variability index (PVI): a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Monit Comput. 2025 Oct;39(5):917-927. doi: 10.1007/s10877-025-01334-7. Epub 2025 Aug 8.
• Results Cecconi M, Hofer C, Teboul JL, Pettila V, Wilkman E, Molnar Z, Della Rocca G, Aldecoa C, Artigas A, Jog S, Sander M, Spies C, Lefrant JY, De Backer D; FENICE Investigators; ESICM Trial Group. Fluid challenges in intensive care: the FENICE study: A global inception cohort study. Intensive Care Med. 2015 Sep;41(9):1529-37. doi: 10.1007/s00134-015-3850-x. Epub 2015 Jul 11.
• Results Canet J, Gallart L, Gomar C, Paluzie G, Valles J, Castillo J, Sabate S, Mazo V, Briones Z, Sanchis J; ARISCAT Group. Prediction of postoperative pulmonary complications in a population-based surgical cohort. Anesthesiology. 2010 Dec;113(6):1338-50. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181fc6e0a.
• Results Cannesson M, Le Manach Y, Hofer CK, Goarin JP, Lehot JJ, Vallet B, Tavernier B. Assessing the diagnostic accuracy of pulse pressure variations for the prediction of fluid responsiveness: a "gray zone" approach. Anesthesiology. 2011 Aug;115(2):231-41. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e318225b80a.
• Results Myles PS, Bellomo R, Corcoran T, Forbes A, Peyton P, Story D, Christophi C, Leslie K, McGuinness S, Parke R, Serpell J, Chan MTV, Painter T, McCluskey S, Minto G, Wallace S; Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Clinical Trials Network and the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group. Restrictive versus Liberal Fluid Therapy for Major Abdominal Surgery. N Engl J Med. 2018 Jun 14;378(24):2263-2274. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1801601. Epub 2018 May 9.

Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.