The immunosuppressive effects of volatile versus intravenous anesthesia combined with epidural analgesia on kidney cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the use of inhalational anesthesia leads to higher suppression of the cell-mediated immunity compared to total intravenous anesthesia in patients undergoing kidney cancer surgery under combined low thoracic epidural analgesia and general anesthesia. METHODS: Patients were randomly allocated to either propofol-based (intravenous anesthetic) or sevoflurane-based (volatile anesthetic) anesthesia group with 10 patients in each group, along with epidural analgesia in both groups. Amounts of natural killer (NK) cells, total T lymphocytes, and T lymphocyte subpopulations in the blood samples collected from the patients before surgery, at the end of the surgery and postoperative days 1, 3 and 7 were determined by flow cytometric analysis. The NK cell count served as the primary endpoint of the study, whereas the total T lymphocyte count and cell counts for T lymphocyte subpopulations were used as the secondary endpoint. RESULTS: Our study showed that there were no significant differences in the amount of NK cells, total T lymphocytes, regulatory T cells, and T-helper cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and their subpopulations between the propofol- and sevoflurane-based anesthesia groups when the anesthesia was administered in combination with epidural analgesia. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this pilot study did not support the hypothesis that the use of inhalational anesthesia leads to higher suppression of the cell-mediated immunity than that of total intravenous anesthesia in patients undergoing kidney cancer surgery under combined low thoracic epidural analgesia and general anesthesia.

Development and Validation of a New Cardio-Specific Resting Energy Expenditure Equation for Adults.

BACKGROUND: This study tested the accuracy of resting energy expenditure (REE) equations among patients who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass and developed/validated a more accurate cardio-specific equation (CSE). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective observational cohort of 240 adults (derivation data set, 170 patients; validation data set, 70 patients). REEs were calculated with 6 equations-Penn State 2003a, Penn State 2003b, Ireton-Jones, Swinamer, Faisy, and American College of Chest Physicians-and results were compared with indirect calorimetry (IC). Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to develop the CSE. Agreement between measured and calculated REEs was assessed with Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (LCCC), Bland-Altman plot, and regression analysis. RESULTS: LCCCs present poor agreement between measured and calculated REEs: 0.24 (95% CI, 0.19-0.29), for the Faisy equation; 0.15 (95% CI, 0.1-0.19), Ireton-Jones; 0.31 (95% CI, 0.25-0.37), Swinamer; 0.17 (95% CI, 0.13-0.21), Penn State 2003a; 0.19 (95% CI, 0.14-0.23), Penn State 2003b; and 0.11 (95% CI, 0.07-0.15), American College of Chest Physicians. Based on the derivation data set, REEs are explained by the following equation: CSE = 616 - 8 × age in years + 13 × weight in kilograms + 450 if on ventilator + 159 × MV in liters + 145 if on inotropes. Based on the validation study results, the LCCC between IC and the CSE was 0.82 (95% CI, 0.73-0.88). CONCLUSION: The CSE has adequate precision and could be used for REE estimation for patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass if IC is unavailable.

Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest vs. Antegrade Cerebral Perfusion in Cerebral Protection during the Surgical Treatment of Chronic Dissection of the Ascending and Arch Aorta.

Circulatory arrest during aortic surgery presents a risk of neurological complications. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) vs. antegrade cerebral perfusion (ACP) in cerebral protection during the surgical treatment of chronic dissection of the ascending and arch aorta and to assess the quality-of-life (QoL) in the long-term postoperative period with respect to the used cerebral protection method. In a prospective, randomized study, 58 patients with chronic type I aortic dissection who underwent ascending aorta and aortic arch replacement surgery were included. Patients were allocated in two groups: 29 patients who underwent surgery under moderate hypothermia (24°C) combined with ACP and 29 patients who underwent surgery under DHCA (18°C) with craniocerebral hypothermia. The regional hemoglobin oxygen saturation (rSO2, %) were compared during surgery, neurological complications were analyzed during the early postoperative period, QoL was compared in the long-term postoperative period (1-year follow-up). During the early postoperative period, 37.9% of patients in the DHCA group exhibited neurological complications, compared with 13.8% of those in the ACP group (p < .05). The risk of neurological complications in the early postoperative period was dependent on the extent of rSO2 decrease during circulatory arrest. In the ACP group, rSO2 decreased by ≤17% from baseline during circulatory arrest. In the DHCA group, a more profound decrease in rSO2 (>30%) was recorded (p < .05). QoL in the long-term period after surgery improved, but it was not dependent on the cerebral protection method used during surgery. ACP during aortic replacement demonstrated the most advanced properties of cerebral protection that can be evidenced by a lesser degree of neurological complications, compared with patients who underwent surgery under conditions of DHCA. QoL after surgery was not dependent on the cerebral protection method used during surgery.

Efficiency of Various Cerebral Protection Techniques Used during the Surgical Treatment of Chronic Pulmonary Thromboembolism.

Circulatory arrest during pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) for chronic pulmonary embolism leads to an increased risk of cerebral ischemia and neurological complications. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of various cerebral protection techniques used during the surgical treatment of chronic pulmonary thromboembolism. We prospectively studied 61 patients with chronic pulmonary thromboembolism who underwent PTE. We compared the dynamics of cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2, %) during the surgical treatment and analyzed neurological complications during the early postoperative period in two groups of patients: 30 patients who underwent surgery under conditions of moderate hypothermia (23°C-24°C) combined with antegrade unilateral cerebral perfusion (ACP group) and 31 patients who underwent thromboendarterectomy under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (18°C, DHCA group) combined with craniocerebral hypothermia. In the ACP group, regional rSO2 decreased by less than 20% from baseline during the course of PTE. In the DHCA group, a more profound reduction of cerebral oxygen supply (by >30% from baseline) was recorded compared with the ACP group (p < .05). During the early postoperative period, 29% of patients in the DHCA group exhibited neurological complications, compared with only 7% of patients from the ACP group. The results of logistic regression analysis indicated that the risk of progressive neurological deficit depended on the duration of the intraoperative period when the absolute values of regional rSO2 were <40%. The method with the best adjustment to human physiology in patients with chronic pulmonary thromboembolism was antegrade cerebral perfusion. This method provides a smaller decrease in cerebral oxygen supply during thromboendarterectomy and significantly reduces the risk of ischemia and neurological complications in the early postoperative period.