Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Aug 15, 2026; 18(8): 121785
Published online Aug 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i8.121785
Published online Aug 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v18.i8.121785
Cardioprotective effects of remimazolam in elderly hypertensive patients undergoing gastrointestinal tumor surgery: A randomized controlled trial
Ting-Ting Ma, Department of Anesthesiology, Yizheng Hospital of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Group, Yangzhou 211400, Jiangsu Province, China
Jun Tong, Department of General Surgery, Yizheng Hospital of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Group, Yangzhou 211400, Jiangsu Province, China
Mei-Yu Liu, Department of Anesthesiology, Jiangdu People’s Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225200, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Ma TT and Liu MY designed the study, performed the experiments and prepared the manuscript; Tong J collected the data, analyzed the data; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: No AI tool was involved in the generation of research data, interpretation of results, or formulation of conclusions. We only translated and polished the response to the reviewers.
Supported by Chronic Disease Management Research Project of National Health Commission Capacity Building and Continuing Education Center, No. CWJJMB202510042058.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Yizheng Hospital, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Group (No. YZYY-2024-06).
Clinical trial registration statement: This study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) with the registration number No. ChiCTR2500112319.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants or their legal representatives prior to enrollment in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: The data which support the result of this study can be obtained from the corresponding author when reasonable request is made.
Corresponding author: Mei-Yu Liu, MD, Doctor, Department of Anesthesiology, Jiangdu People’s Hospital Affiliated to Yangzhou University, No. 100 Jiangzhou Road, Jiangdu District, Yangzhou 225200, Jiangsu Province, China. myliu@yzu.edu.cn
Received: April 14, 2026
Revised: May 7, 2026
Accepted: May 26, 2026
Published online: August 15, 2026
Processing time: 115 Days and 0.6 Hours
Revised: May 7, 2026
Accepted: May 26, 2026
Published online: August 15, 2026
Processing time: 115 Days and 0.6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This randomized controlled study demonstrates that remimazolam-based anesthesia provides significant cardioprotective effects in elderly hypertensive patients undergoing gastrointestinal tumor surgery. Compared with conventional anesthesia, remimazolam reduces cardiac biomarker levels, improves hemodynamic stability, alleviates postoperative pain and agitation, and lowers the incidence of myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery. These findings suggest that remimazolam may be a safer anesthetic option in high-risk elderly populations and highlight potential strategies for preventing perioperative cardiac complications.