ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the effects of intravenous anesthetics (fentanyl,midazolam and propofol )on inflammatory responses. Method: We employed carrageenan-sensitized endotoxemic rabbit model. Thirty-two New Zealand rabbits were randomly assigned to one of four groups,control group(no anesthetic was used), fentanyl group, midazolam group and propofol group. Different anesthetics were used intravenously for anesthesia induction and maintenance according to the group classification. Meanwhile, all animals were mechanically ventilated, then, 2?g?kg~(-1) lipopolysaccharide(LPS) were injected for endotoxin challenge. Result:In all groups, serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)activity began to increase at 30 min,reached its maximal level at 60 min,and tended to decrease at 120 min after (LPS) challenge,and the significant increase of TNF activity was associated with development of hypotension. Meanwhile,serum phospholipase A_2(PLA_2)activity began to increase at 60 min and persisted in going up within 2h. Those animals,with continuous infusion of these three different anesthetics and mechanical ventilation,had much lower peak level of TNF and higher mean arterial pressure (MAP)than control levels, but their changes of serum PLA_2 activity had no significant difference from control level. Conclusion: With mechanical ventilation, intravenous infusion of these anesthetics can reduce LPS induced injury in the acute phase of endotoxemia, probably by the inhibition of TNF production.
