Biomarkers of inflammation in major vascular surgery: a prospective randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Surgery induces inflammation and pro-inflammatory cytokines are associated with post-operative complications. In cardiac surgery, it has been shown that volatile anaesthetics have cardioprotective properties. We explored whether sevoflurane affects the pro-inflammatory response favourably compared with total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) after surgery. METHODS: We measured monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), C-reactive protein (CRP), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 perioperatively and evaluated if the anaesthetic regimen affected these mediators. Our hypothesis was that sevoflurane-based anaesthesia is associated with a reduced release of biomarkers of inflammation compared with TIVA with propofol/remifentanil. RESULTS: In the total population, MCP-1, MMP-9, IL-6 and IL-8 increased 30 min after arrival intensive care unit, compared with before surgery (P < 0.001), whereas CRP and VCAM-1 transiently declined (P < 0.001). From 30 min after arrival intensive care unit to 1st post-operative day, MCP-1 and IL-6 levels declined (P < 0.001), CRP and VCAM-1 increased (P < 0.001), whereas MMP-9 and IL-8 were not significantly altered. Pre-operatively there were no significant differences in any variables between the two anaesthetic groups. Lower levels of MCP-1 and IL-8 (P < 0.001) and higher levels of IL-6 and MMP-9 (P = 0.003) were found in the sevoflurane group, compared with the TIVA group 30 min post-operatively. CRP and VCAM-1 levels did not differ. There were no significant differences between the two anaesthetic groups before surgery or at 1st post-operative day. CONCLUSION: We found an inflammatory response during the observation period, which was modified by the anaesthetic regimen in the early phase. This short-lasting difference is probably too short to support a cardioprotective effect of sevoflurane compared with TIVA in open abdominal aortic surgery.

Analysis of transthoracic echocardiographic data in major vascular surgery from a prospective randomised trial comparing sevoflurane and fentanyl with propofol and remifentanil anaesthesia.

The aim of this study was to define pre-operative echocardiographic data and explore if postoperative indices of cardiac function after open abdominal aortic surgery were affected by the anaesthetic regimen. We hypothesised that volatile anaesthesia would improve indices of cardiac function compared with total intravenous anaesthesia. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed pre-operatively in 78 patients randomly assigned to volatile anaesthesia and 76 to total intravenous anaesthesia, and compared with postoperative data. Pre-operatively, 16 patients (10%) had left ventricular ejection fraction < 46%. In 138 patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction, 5/8 (62%) with left ventricular dilatation and 41/130 (33%) without left ventricular dilatation had evidence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (p < 0.001). Compared with pre-operative findings, significant increases in left ventricular end-diastolic volume, left atrial maximal volume, cardiac output, velocity of early mitral flow and early myocardial relaxation occurred postoperatively (all p < 0.001). The ratio of the velocity of early mitral flow to early myocardial relaxation remained unchanged. There were no significant differences in postoperative echocardiographic findings between patients anaesthetised with volatile anaesthesia or total intravenous anaesthesia. Patients had an iatrogenic surplus of approximately 4.1 l of fluid volume by the first postoperative day. N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide increased on the first postoperative day (p < 0.001) and remained elevated after 30 days (p < 0.001) in both groups. Although postoperative echocardiographic alterations were most likely to be related to increased preload due to a substantial iatrogenic surplus of fluid, a component of peri-operative myocardial ischaemia cannot be excluded. Our hypothesis that volatile anaesthesia improved indices of cardiac function compared with total intravenous anaesthesia could not be verified.