Effect of etomidate and dexamethasone on cortisol secretion in elderly patients undergoing general anesthesia / 中华麻醉学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the effects of dexamethasone and etomidate on cortisol secretion in elderly patients undergoing general anesthesia.Methods:One hundred and twenty-five elderly patients of either sex, aged 66-90 yr, of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical statusⅠ-Ⅲ, undergoing minor and medium elective surgeries under general anesthesia, were allocated into 4 groups using a random number table method: propofol and normal saline group (group PN, n=31), propofol and etomidate group (group PD, n=31), etomidate and normal saline group (group EN, n=33) and etomidate and dexamethasone group (group ED, n=30). In PN and EN groups, propofol (2 mg/kg) was used to induce and maintain anesthesia, and normal saline 2 ml and dexamethasone 0.1 mg/kg were intravenously injected, respectively, at 5 min before anesthesia induction.In PD and ED groups, etomidate (0.2 mg/kg) was used to induce and maintain anesthesia, and normal saline 2 ml and dexamethasone 0.1 mg/kg were intravenously injected, respectively, at 5 min before anesthesia induction.The serum cortisol concentrations were measured at 8 00 after entering the operating room on the morning of operation (T 1), 1 h after the start of anesthesia (T 2), 2 h after the start of anesthesia (T 3), 8 00 on the next day ofoperation (T 4) and 8 00 on the 2nd day of operation (T 5). Blood glucose concentrations were measured at T 1-T 3, and the hypotension during the peri-anesthesia period, nausea and vomiting in post-anesthesia care unit, and nausea and vomiting scores were recorded at 24 h after operation. Results:A total of 122 patients completed the trial.Compared with PN group, the concentration of serum cortisol was significantly decreased at T 2-T 5, blood glucose concentrations were increased at T 2 and T 3 ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in the incidence of hypotension, nausea and vomiting and nausea and vomiting scores in PD group ( P>0.05), and the concentration of serum cortisol was significantly decreased at T 2-T 4, the incidence of hypotension was decreased ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in the blood glucose concentrations, incidence of nausea and vomiting or nausea and vomiting scores in EN group ( P>0.05). Compared with ED group, the serum cortisol concentration was significantly increased at T 2 and T 3, the incidence of hypotension was increased, the incidence of nausea and vomiting and nausea and vomiting scores were decreased ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in the blood glucose concentrations in PD group ( P>0.05), and the serum cortisol concentration was significantly decreased at T 2 and T 3 and increased at T 4 and T 5, the serum cortisol concentration was decreased at T 2 and T 3, and no significant change was found in the incidence of hypotension, nausea and vomiting and nausea and vomiting scores in EN group ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Combination of etomidate and dexamethasone significantly enhances the duration and degree of inhibition of cortisol secretion in elderly patients than etomidate or dexamethasone alone.