The effect of 1% glucose loading on metabolism in the elderly patients during remifentanil-induced anesthesia: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that remifentanil-induced anesthesia can inhibit surgical stress response in non-diabetic adult patients and that low-dose glucose loading during anesthesia may attenuate fat catabolism. However, little is known about the influence of glucose loading on metabolism in elderly patients, whose condition may be influenced by decreased basal metabolism and increased insulin resistance. We hypothesized that, in elderly patients, intraoperative low glucose infusion may attenuate the catabolism of fat without causing harmful hyperglycemia during remifentanil-induced anesthesia. METHODS: Elderly, non-diabetic patients scheduled to undergo elective surgery were enrolled and randomized to receive no glucose (0G group) or low-dose glucose infusion (0.1 g/kg/hr. for 1 h followed by 0.05 g/kg/hr. for 1 h; LG group) during surgery. Glucose, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), 3-methylhistidine (3-MH), insulin, cortisol, free fatty acid (FFA), creatinine (Cr), and ketone body levels were measured pre-anesthesia, 1 h post-glucose infusion, at the end of surgery, and on the following morning. RESULTS: A total of 31 patients (aged 75-85) were included (0G, n = 16; LG, n = 15). ACTH levels during anesthesia decreased significantly in both groups. In the LG group, glucose levels increased significantly after glucose loading but hyperglycemia was not observed. During surgery, ketone bodies and FFA were significantly lower in the LG group than the 0G group. There were no significant differences in insulin, Cr, 3-MH, and 3-MH/Cr between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Remifentanil-induced anesthesia inhibited surgical stress response in elderly patients. Intraoperative low-dose glucose infusion attenuated catabolism of fat without inducing hyperglycemia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study has been registered with the University hospital Medical Information Network Center (http://www.umin.ac.jp/english/). TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: UMIN000016189. The initial registration date: January 12th 2015.

Isoflurane-induced postconditioning via mitochondrial calcium-activated potassium channels.

PURPOSE: Activation of the mitochondrial calcium-activated potassium (mKCa) channel reportedly confers resistance to myocardial ischemic stress. However, the role of the mKCa channel in postconditioning induced by volatile anesthetic remains unclear. METHODS: Male Japanese white rabbits underwent coronary artery occlusion for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 3 h. Volatile anesthetic, isoflurane, was administered at 3 min prior to reperfusion for 5 min. Rabbits were injected with the mKCa channel blocker, iberiotoxin, or the mKCa channel opener, NS1619, at 8 min prior to reperfusion. Myocardial infarct size and the area at risk (AAR) were measured at the end of the experiment. RESULTS: Isoflurane significantly reduced infarct size (23.0 ± 9.8% of the AAR, P<0.05) compared with the control (44.0 ± 9.1%). Iberiotoxin abolished the cardioprotective impact of isoflurane (43.0 ± 11.6%), while iberiotoxin alone exerted no effect on infarct size (45.0 ± 9.5%). NS1619 and isoflurane/NS1619 both significantly reduced infarct size (21.0 ± 10.3% and 19.0 ± 8.8%, respectively, P<0.05 vs control group), but isoflurane/NS1619 showed no additional benefits compared with isoflurane alone. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that activation of the mKCa channel contribute isoflurane-induced postconditioning.

Fosaprepitant versus ondansetron for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients who undergo gynecologic abdominal surgery with patient-controlled epidural analgesia: a prospective, randomized, double-blind study.

PURPOSE: Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is the most common postoperative complication. The postoperative use of opioids is known to increase the incidence. We compared fosaprepitant, a neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonist, and ondansetron for their preventive effects on PONV in patients who underwent gynecologic abdominal surgery with patient-controlled epidural analgesia. METHODS: This prospective, double-blind, randomized study comprised 44 patients who underwent gynecologic abdominal surgery. They were randomly allocated to receive 150 mg intravenous fosaprepitant (n = 24; NKI group) or 4 mg ondansetron (n = 20; ONS group) before anesthesia, which was maintained with volatile anesthetics, remifentanil, fentanyl, and rocuronium. All patients received postoperative fentanyl by patient-controlled epidural anesthesia. The incidence of nausea and vomiting, complete response rate (i.e., no vomiting and no rescue antiemetic use), rescue antiemetic use, nausea score (0-3), and visual analog scale score (VAS 0-10) for pain were recorded at 2, 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery. RESULTS: No (0 %) patient in the NKI group experienced vomiting after surgery; however, 4-6 (20-30 %) of 20 patients in the ONS group experienced vomiting. This difference was significant at 0-24, 0-48, and 0-72 h. During the study period, no significant differences existed between the NK1 and ONS groups in the incidence of PONV, complete response rate, rescue antiemetic use, nausea score, and VAS score for pain. CONCLUSION: Compared to ondansetron, fosaprepitant more effectively decreased the incidence of vomiting in patients who underwent gynecologic abdominal surgery with patient-controlled epidural analgesia.