ABSTRACT
The effects of combined general anaesthesia and epidural analgesia in various endocrine and metabolic parameters were studied before, during, at the end, and 72 h after upper abdominal surgery, in an effort to further elucidate the role of epidural analgesia in the endocrine and metabolic response. 50 patients were randomly assigned into groups A and B, which received general anaesthesia alone and combined general anaesthesia and epidural analgesia, respectively. The effects of surgical stress in the plasma concentration of ACTH (P <0.001), cortisol (P <0.01), aldosterone (P <0.05), FFA (P <0.05) and glucose (P <0.01) were significantly less pronounced in the group of patients who received combined general anaesthesia and epidural analgesia. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in regard with plasma TSH, T3, T4, glucagon or Na+ concentration. These results indicate that the combination of general anaesthesia and epidural analgesia attenuate, but does not inhibit, the endocrine and metabolic response to upper abdominal surgery.
Subject(s)
Anesthesia, Epidural/methods , Anesthesia, General/methods , Cholecystectomy/methods , Hemodynamics/physiology , Stress, Physiological/prevention & control , Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/blood , Adult , Aldosterone/blood , Anesthesia, Epidural/adverse effects , Anesthesia, General/adverse effects , Blood Glucose/analysis , Blood Pressure Determination , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Hydrocortisone/blood , Middle Aged , Postoperative Period , Preoperative Care , Probability , Reference Values , Stress, Physiological/epidemiology , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
We investigated the effect of exogenous ovine corticotropin-releasing hormone (oCRH) on plasma levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol in 24 chronic renal failure patients: 8 nondialysis (NDCRF), 8 on hemodialysis (HD), and 8 on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). In all groups the acute administration of oCRH caused a further increase (less pronounced in NDCRF patients) in the already elevated levels of cortisol. Following oCRH administration, plasma ACTH rose significantly in CAPD patients, but there was a blunted response of the hormone in the NDCRF and HD groups. The patterns of the ACTH and cortisol response in the last two groups, resemble those observed in chronic stress. We conclude that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in chronic uremic patients, retains the ability to respond to exogenous oCRH. Patients on CAPD, however, display a better, identical to normal response, which can be due to less chronic stress and/or to the more effective clearance of uremic toxins.
