Innovation in anaesthetic pharmacology
| PhD ceremony: | Mr R. (Remco) Vellinga |
| When: | September 10, 2025 |
| Start: | 12:45 |
| Supervisors: | prof. dr. M.M.R.F. (Michel) Struys, P.J. Colin |
| Co-supervisors: | dr. J.P. van den Berg, dr. J.V. Koomen |
| Where: | Academy building RUG / Student Information & Administration |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences / UMCG |
Innovation in anaesthetic pharmacology
This thesis of Remco Vellinga showed that a general-purpose model for giving propofol — a common anesthesia drug — works well in real-life settings. The model developed by Eleveld and colleagues helps doctors keep patients at the right level of sleep (measured by BIS values between 40 and 60) during surgery. It works safely and effectively for many different types of patients, including young children, elderly people, and those with obesity. Because of this, doctors no longer need separate models for each group, which also reduces side effects and makes training easier.
To make the dosing even more tailored to individual patients, a new tool using Bayesian methods was tested. This tool gave advice during surgery and allowed for very precise drug control. However, it was hard to show major improvements compared to a group of expert anesthesiologists, who already had excellent skills using traditional methods.
The second part of the thesis focused on remimazolam, a newer sedative. It was found to be just as effective as propofol and even better at avoiding low blood pressure right after it’s given. The study also looked at how remimazolam behaves in the body and how it interacts with another drug, remifentanil. It turns out that remimazolam can cause tolerance if used for a long time, but this can be managed by adjusting the dose.
Lastly, the research confirmed that combining remimazolam with remifentanil has an additive effect, leading to deeper sedation, especially at higher doses of remifentanil.