A Study to Determine if Caffeine Accelerates Emergence From Anesthesia

A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Study to Determine if Caffeine Citrate Accelerates Emergence From Anesthesia

At present clinicians have no way to reverse anesthesia. Patients wake when their bodies clear the anesthetic. Most people wake quickly, but some do not. All patients have memory and other cognitive problems after waking from anesthesia. In studies on animals, the investigators observed that caffeine caused rats and mice to wake much more rapidly from anesthesia. This was true for all the animals tested. The investigators would like to see if this holds true in humans. Will caffeine accelerate waking from anesthesia? Will it reverse the cognitive deficits associated with anesthesia, after waking?

The investigators carried out a modest trial with 8 test subjects. Each volunteer was anesthetized twice. Each volunteer was anesthetized one time and received an infusion of saline (placebo control), without the aid of any other drugs and the other time the volunteer received an infusion of a relatively low dose of caffeine. The order of saline versus caffeine was randomized and the study was done in a double blind manner. We observed that emergence from anesthesia was significantly accelerated by the caffeine infusion. No adverse events were observed.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 25-40.
2. Male.
3. Normal healthy subject without systematic diseases or conditions.
4. Metabolic Equivalents of Functional Capacity >= 5.
5. Low risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) based on the screening test (STOP-bang score established by American Society of Sleep Apnea): Yes to > 3 items- high risk of OSA
6. No History of Arrhythmia (Baseline EKG will be obtained during the history and physical session), seizure, liver and kidney diseases.
7. BMI < 30 kg/m2.
8. No history of prior difficulty with anesthesia.
9. No personal or family history of malignant hyperthermia.
10. No history of any mental illness.
11. No history of drugs or alcohol abuse (urine drug screens required).
12. Subjects capable of giving consent.
13. Living less than 30 miles away from University of Chicago.
14. No history of seizure disorders.
15. No history of head trauma.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Age <25 or >40.
2. Female.
3. ASA physical status > 1 (normal healthy subject without systematic diseases or conditions)
4. Metabolic Equivalents of Functional Capacity (METs) < 5.
5. High risks for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) based on the screening test (STOP-bang score established by American Society of Sleep Apnea): Yes to > 3 items- high risk of OSA
6. History Arrhythmia (Baseline EKG will be obtained during the history and physical session), seizure, liver and kidney diseases
7. BMI>30 kg/m2.
8. Prior difficulty with anesthesia.
9. Personal or family history of malignant hyperthermia.
10. History of any mental illness.
11. History of drugs or alcohol abuse (urine drug screens required)
12. Subjects capable of giving consent
13. Living more than 30 miles away from University of Chicago.
14. History of seizure disorders.
15. History of head trauma.