Claimed effect · Oxytocin (intranasal)

Does Oxytocin (intranasal) help with acute stress disorder after fracture surgery?

B
Grade B — probable, not settled1 RCT (n=328) · effect size: moderate
Short answerProbable, not settled. Human data exist (1 RCT (n=328)) and mostly agree, showing a moderate effect — but too few, too small, or not yet peer-reviewed for a firm answer. A single-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in China, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on 26 October 2026: 328 adults having surgery for a traumatic fracture received one intranasal dose of oxytocin or saline ten minutes before anaesthesia. Within three days, 15.9% on oxytocin and 30.5% on saline screened positive for probable acute stress disorder on the Stanford questionnaire — a risk ratio of 0.52 (95% CI 0.34–0.79). No serious adverse events. One trial, one centre, and a screening questionnaire rather than a clinical diagnosis, so B until replicated; the authors say the same.

What the studies show

A single-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in China, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on 26 October 2026: 328 adults having surgery for a traumatic fracture received one intranasal dose of oxytocin or saline ten minutes before anaesthesia. Within three days, 15.9% on oxytocin and 30.5% on saline screened positive for probable acute stress disorder on the Stanford questionnaire — a risk ratio of 0.52 (95% CI 0.34–0.79). No serious adverse events. One trial, one centre, and a screening questionnaire rather than a clinical diagnosis, so B until replicated; the authors say the same.

“The 3-day cumulative incidence of screening-positive probable ASD was 26 of 164 (15.9%) in the oxytocin group vs 50 of 164 (30.5%) in the saline group (risk difference, -14.6 percentage points [pp]; 95% CI, -23.5 to -5.5 pp; risk ratio, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.34-0.79).”

Verbatim, from the abstractHuang Q, et al. Preoperative intranasal oxytocin and probable acute stress disorder after traumatic fracture surgery: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med, 2026 (online 26 Oct)

Human trials exist and mostly agree, but there are too few of them, they are too small, or one big one is still reading out. Expect the grade to move.

  1. 1
    Huang Q, et al. Preoperative intranasal oxytocin and probable acute stress disorder after traumatic fracture surgery: a randomized clinical trial.JAMA Intern Med, 2026 (online 26 Oct)328 randomised 1:1 at one hospital in China, April 2024–April 2025; primary outcome screening-positive probable acute stress disorder (Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire ≥40) within 3 days; adjusted hazard ratio 0.45 (95% CI 0.27–0.75). ChiCTR2400082612.

In context

Oxytocin is a natural nine-amino-acid hormone, licensed for decades as an injection to induce labour and control bleeding. The compound sold in the peptide world is intranasal oxytocin, promoted for bonding, appetite and social behaviour. There the evidence is largely negative: the largest autism trial found no benefit and an obesity trial found no weight loss. One exception, October 2026: a 328-person trial found a single pre-operative nasal dose halved screening-positive acute stress reactions after fracture surgery — one trial, awaiting replication.

Oxytocin (intranasal) is approved (rx) as injection; intranasal use unlicensed. Legal status differs by country — see the regulation section or the jurisdiction pages.

Questions

Is Oxytocin (intranasal) proven to help with acute stress disorder after fracture surgery?
Not yet settled. 1 RCT (n=328) — LYO grades it B, meaning probable but liable to change as trials read out.
What studies are behind the grade?
A single-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in China, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on 26 October 2026: 328 adults having surgery for a traumatic fracture received one intranasal dose of oxytocin or saline ten minutes before anaesthesia. Within three days, 15.9% on oxytocin and 30.5% on saline screened positive for probable acute stress disorder on the Stanford questionnaire — a risk ratio of 0.52 (95% CI 0.34–0.79). No serious adverse events. One trial, one centre, and a screening questionnaire rather than a clinical diagnosis, so B until replicated; the authors say the same.
Is Oxytocin (intranasal) approved for this?
Oxytocin (intranasal) is an approved medicine (Approved (Rx) as injection; intranasal use unlicensed); whether this particular outcome is a licensed indication is stated on the compound page's regulation section.

Other outcomes for Oxytocin (intranasal)

Written and maintained by LYO Research — how pages are written and checked. Reviewed 2 November 2026. Grades count human evidence only; see how LYO grades. Not medical advice. Correct this page →