A comparison of three anesthetic techniques in patients undergoing craniotomy for supratentorial intracranial surgery

Efficacy and safety of sevoflurane vs propofol in combination with remifentanil for anesthesia maintenance during craniotomy: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of sevoflurane-remifentanil (SR) vs propofol-remifentanil (PR) as inhalation anesthesia or total intravenous anesthesia in patients undergoing craniotomy, respectively.

METHODS

Electronic databases included PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase, Cochrane library, CNKI, and Wanfang data were searched using suitable search items. Randomized clinical controlled trials comparing the combination of SR and PR as anesthetics for neurosurgery were included. The outcomes included wake-up time, spontaneous respiration time, extubation time, and safety.

RESULTS

Seventeen studies were included in this meta-analysis. There were no statistically significant differences in wake-up time (P = .25, standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.29, 95% CI -0.20 to 0.77), extubation time (P = .1, SMD = 0.52, 95% CI -0.11 to 1.14) and spontaneous respiration time (P = .58, SMD = 0.43, 95% CI -1.07 to 1.93) when patients with SF and PF for anesthesia maintenance. Moreover, the changes of hemodynamic parameters are similar between the 2 groups. During anesthesia maintenance, SF could significantly increase the incidence of hypotension and brain edema than PF (P = .02, SMD = 1.68, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.62; P < .0001, SMD = 3.37, 95% CI 1.86 to 6.12), PF markedly promoted the incidence of hypertension (P = .001, SMD = 0.55, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.79). The postoperative adverse reactions were similar between the 2 groups (P > .05), but the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting proved to be higher in SF group (P < .0001, SMD = 2.12, 95% CI 1.47 to 3.07).

CONCLUSIONS

SR and PR as anesthetics in patients underwent craniotomy had similar effects, but PR was superior to SR in terms of safety of intraoperation and postoperation.

Comparison of total intravenous anesthesia vs. inhalational anesthesia on brain relaxation, intracranial pressure, and hemodynamics in patients with acute subdural hematoma undergoing emergency craniotomy: a randomized control trial

BACKGROUND

The major goals of anesthesia in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) are-maintenance of hemodynamic stability, optimal cerebral perfusion pressure, lowering of ICP, and providing a relaxed brain. Although both inhalational and intravenous anesthetics are commonly employed, there is no clear consensus on which technique is better for the anesthetic management of severe TBI.

METHODS

Ninety patients, 18-60 years of age, of either gender, with GCS < 8, posted for emergency evacuation of acute subdural hematoma were enrolled in this prospective trial, and they were randomized into two groups of 45 each. Patients in group P received propofol infusion at 100-150 mg/kg/min for maintenance of anesthesia and those in group I received ≤ 1 MAC of isoflurane. Hemodynamic parameters were monitored in all patients. ICP was measured at the dural opening and brain relaxation was assessed by the operating surgeon on a four-point scale (1-perfectly relaxed, 2-satisfactorily relaxed, 3-firm brain, and 4-bulging brain) at the dural opening. It was reassessed at dural closure.

RESULTS

Brain relaxation, both at dural opening and closure, was significantly better in patients who received propofol compared to those who received isoflurane. ICP was significantly lower (25.47 ± 3.72 mmHg vs. 23.41 ± 3.97 mmHg) in the TIVA group. Hemodynamic parameters were well maintained in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with severe TBI, total intravenous (Propofol)-based anesthesia provided better brain relaxation, maintained a lower ICP along with better hemodynamics when compared to inhalational anesthesia.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

Clinical trials registry (NCT03146104).

Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction

Cognitive dysfunction is a common complication in primary or metastatic brain tumors and can be correlated to disease itself or various treatment modalities. The symptoms of cognitive deficits may include problems with memory, attention and information processing. Primary brain tumors are highly associated with neurocognitive deficit and poor quality of life. This review discusses the pathophysiology, risk factors and assessment of cognitive dysfunction. It also gives an overview of the effect of anesthetics on postoperative cognitive dysfunction and its management.

Intravenous versus inhalational techniques for rapid emergence from anaesthesia in patients undergoing brain tumour surgery

BACKGROUND

Brain tumour surgery usually is carried out with the patient under general anaesthesia. Over past years, both intravenous and inhalational anaesthetic agents have been used, but the superiority of one agent over the other is a topic of ongoing debate. Early and rapid emergence from anaesthesia is desirable for most neurosurgical patients. With the availability of newer intravenous and inhalational anaesthetic agents, all of which have inherent advantages and disadvantages, we remain uncertain as to which technique may result in more rapid early recovery from anaesthesia.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effects of intravenous versus inhalational techniques for rapid emergence from anaesthesia in patients undergoing brain tumour surgery.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; 2014, Issue 6) in The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE via Ovid SP (1966 to June 2014) and Embase via Ovid SP (1980 to June 2014). We also searched specific websites, such as www.indmed.nic.in, www.cochrane-sadcct.org and www.Clinicaltrials.gov (October 2014). We reran the searches for all databases in March 2016, and when we update the review, we will deal with the two studies of interest found through this search that are awaiting classification.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared the use of intravenous anaesthetic agents such as propofol and thiopentone with inhalational anaesthetic agents such as isoflurane and sevoflurane for maintenance of general anaesthesia during brain tumour surgery. Primary outcomes were emergence from anaesthesia (assessed by time to follow verbal commands, in minutes) and adverse events during emergence, such as haemodynamic changes, agitation, desaturation, muscle weakness, nausea and vomiting, shivering and pain. Secondary outcomes were time to eye opening, recovery from anaesthesia using the Aldrete or Modified Aldrete score (i.e. time to attain score ≥ 9, in minutes), opioid consumption, brain relaxation (as assessed by the surgeon on a 4- or 5-point scale) and complications of anaesthetic techniques, such as intraoperative haemodynamic instability in terms of hypotension or hypertension (mmHg), increased or decreased heart rate (beats/min) and brain swelling.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We used standardized methods in conducting the systematic review, as described by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Two review authors independently extracted details of trial methods and outcome data from reports of all trials considered eligible for inclusion. We performed all analyses on an intention-to-treat basis. We used a fixed-effect model when we found no evidence of significant heterogeneity between studies, and a random-effects model when heterogeneity was likely. For assessments of the overall quality of evidence for each outcome that included pooled data from RCTs only, we downgraded the evidence from 'high quality' by one level for serious (or by two levels for very serious) study limitations (risk of bias), indirectness of evidence, serious inconsistency, imprecision of effect or potential publication bias.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 15 RCTs with 1833 participants. We determined that none of the RCTs were of high methodological quality. For our primary outcomes, pooled results from two trials suggest that time to emergence from anaesthesia, that is, time needed to follow verbal commands, was longer with isoflurane than with propofol (mean difference (MD) -3.29 minutes, 95% confidence interval (CI) -5.41 to -1.18, low-quality evidence), and time to emergence from anaesthesia was not different with sevoflurane compared with propofol (MD 0.28 minutes slower with sevoflurane, 95% CI -0.56 to 1.12, four studies, low-quality evidence). Pooled analyses for adverse events suggest lower risk of nausea and vomiting with propofol than with sevoflurane (risk ratio (RR) 0.68, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.91, low-quality evidence) or isoflurane (RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.78) and greater risk of haemodynamic changes with propofol than with sevoflurane (RR 1.85, 95% CI 1.07 to 3.17), but no differences in the risk of shivering or pain. Pooled analyses for brain relaxation suggest lower risk of tense brain with propofol than with isoflurane (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.67 to 1.17, low-quality evidence), but no difference when propofol is compared with sevoflurane.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The finding of our review is that the intravenous technique is comparable with the inhalational technique of using sevoflurane to provide early emergence from anaesthesia. Adverse events with both techniques are also comparable. However, we derived evidence of low quality from a limited number of studies. Use of isoflurane delays emergence from anaesthesia. These results should be interpreted with caution. Randomized controlled trials based on uniform and standard methods are needed. Researchers should follow proper methods of randomization and blinding, and trials should be adequately powered.

Effects of Anesthetic Management on Early Postoperative Recovery, Hemodynamics and Pain After Supratentorial Craniotomy

Various clinical trials have assessed how intraoperative anesthetics can affect early recovery, hemodynamics and nociception after supratentorial craniotomy. Whether or not the difference in recovery pattern differs in a meaningful way with anesthetic choice is controversial. This review examines and compares different anesthetics with respect to wake-up time, hemodynamics, respiration, cognitive recovery, pain, nausea and vomiting, and shivering. When comparing inhalational anesthetics to intravenous anesthetics, either regimen produces similar recovery results. Newer shorter acting agents accelerate the process of emergence and extubation. A balanced inhalational/intravenous anesthetic could be desirable for patients with normal intracranial pressure, while total intravenous anesthesia could be beneficial for patients with elevated intracranial pressure. Comparison of inhalational anesthetics shows all appropriate for rapid emergence, decreasing time to extubation, and cognitive recovery. Comparison of opioids demonstrates similar awakening and extubation time if the infusion of longer acting opioids was ended at the appropriate time. Administration of local anesthetics into the skin, and addition of corticosteroids, NSAIDs, COX-2 inhibitors, and PCA therapy postoperatively provided superior analgesia. It is also important to emphasize the possibility of long-term effects of anesthetics on cognitive function. More research is warranted to develop best practices strategies for the future that are evidence-based.

Superior recovery profiles of propofol-based regimen as compared to isoflurane-based regimen in patients undergoing craniotomy for primary brain tumor excision: a retrospective study

PURPOSE

Studies comparing the recovery profiles of isoflurane- and propofol-based anesthesia for major intracranial surgery have reported contradictory results. The aim of our study was to clarify the emergence status in both regimens by investigating uniformly managed neuroanesthesia cases.

METHODS

The anesthesia database at Yamagata University Hospital covering the period 2002-2005 was retrospectively investigated for adult patients who underwent craniotomy for primary brain tumor excision. General anesthesia was provided by an isoflurane- (ISO group) or propofol-based (PROP group) regimen. Times to extubation and operating room (OR) discharge, perioperative consciousness levels, and perioperative variables were compared.

RESULTS

Of the 202 surgeries performed during the study period, 77 and 82 patients were anesthetized with isoflurane and propofol, respectively. Demographic data were comparable between the two groups, although the American Society of Anesthesiology grade was worse in the PROP group. Extubation times [39.5 ± 14.6 min (ISO) vs. 29.5 ± 14.9 min (PROP); P < 0.001] and OR discharge times [67.2 ± 18.0 (ISO) vs. 53.9 ± 17.6 min (PROP); P < 0.001] were significantly shorter in the PROP, with significantly better immediate consciousness levels. The differences in levels of consciousness persisted for several hours postoperatively. PROP patients had significantly higher urine outputs and lower body temperatures during anesthesia. The incidences of shivering, nausea, vomiting, and convulsions were not significantly different between the groups. The time to discharge was similar between the groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Propofol was associated with a better recovery profile and neurological condition than isoflurane, as indicated by shorter extubation and OR discharge times and better postoperative consciousness.

Slack brain in meningioma surgery through lateral supraorbital approach

BACKGROUND

Surgery of skull base meningiomas by the lateral supraorbital (LSO) approach requires relaxed brain. Therefore, we assessed combined effects of the elements of neuroanesthesia on neurosurgical conditions during craniotomy.

METHODS

The anesthesiological and surgical charts of 66 olfactory groove, 73 anterior clinoidal, and 52 tuberculum sellae meningioma patients operated on by the senior author (J.H.) at the Department of Neurosurgery of Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland, between September 1997 and August 2010, were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

One-hundred fifty-four (82%) patients had good surgical conditions, and this was achieved by (1) elevating the head 20 cm above the cardiac level in all patients with only slightly lateral turn or neck flexion, (2) administering mannitol preoperatively in medium or large meningiomas (n = 60), (3) maintaining anesthesia with propofol infusion (n = 46) or volatile anesthetics (n = 107) also in patients with large tumors (n = 37), and (4) controlling intraoperative hemodynamics. Brain relaxation was satisfactory in 18 (10%) and poor in 15 (8%) patients. The median intraoperative blood loss was 200 (range, 0-2000) ml. Only 9% of patients received red blood cell transfusion. The median time to extubation was 18 (range, 8-105) min after surgery. Extubation time correlated with the patients' preoperative clinical status and the size of tumor but not with the modality of anesthesia.

CONCLUSIONS

Slack brain during the LSO approach is achieved by correct patient positioning, preoperative mannitol, either by propofol or in small tumors inhaled anesthetics, and optimizing cerebral perfusion pressure. Under these circumstances, intraoperative brain swelling is prevented, bleeding is minimal, and no blood transfusions are needed.

Neuroanesthesia management of neurosurgery of brain stem tumor requiring neurophysiology monitoring in an iMRI OT setting

This report describes a rare case of ventrally exophytic pontine glioma describing operative and neuroanesthesia management. The combination of intraoperative neuromonitoring was used. It constituted: Brain stem evoked responses/potentials, Motor EP: recording from cranial nerve supplied muscle, and Sensory EP: Medial/tibial. Excision of the tumor was done with intra-operative magnatic resonance imaging (iMRI), which is considered a new modality.

Anaesthesiological strategies in elective craniotomy: randomized, equivalence, open trial--the NeuroMorfeo trial

BACKGROUND

Many studies have attempted to determine the "best" anaesthetic technique for neurosurgical procedures in patients without intracranial hypertension. So far, no study comparing intravenous (IA) with volatile-based neuroanaesthesia (VA) has been able to demonstrate major outcome differences nor a superiority of one of the two strategies in patients undergoing elective supratentorial neurosurgery. Therefore, current practice varies and includes the use of either volatile or intravenous anaesthetics in addition to narcotics. Actually the choice of the anaesthesiological strategy depends only on the anaesthetists' preferences or institutional policies. This trial, named NeuroMorfeo, aims to assess the equivalence between volatile and intravenous anaesthetics for neurosurgical procedures.

METHODS/DESIGN

NeuroMorfeo is a multicenter, randomized, open label, controlled trial, based on an equivalence design. Patients aged between 18 and 75 years, scheduled for elective craniotomy for supratentorial lesion without signs of intracranial hypertension, in good physical state (ASA I-III) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) equal to 15, are randomly assigned to one of three anaesthesiological strategies (two VA arms, sevoflurane + fentanyl or sevoflurane + remifentanil, and one IA, propofol + remifentanil). The equivalence between intravenous and volatile-based neuroanaesthesia will be evaluated by comparing the intervals required to reach, after anaesthesia discontinuation, a modified Aldrete score > or = 9 (primary end-point). Two statistical comparisons have been planned: 1) sevoflurane + fentanyl vs. propofol + remifentanil; 2) sevoflurane + remifentanil vs. propofol + remifentanil. Secondary end-points include: an assessment of neurovegetative stress based on (a) measurement of urinary catecholamines and plasma and urinary cortisol and (b) estimate of sympathetic/parasympathetic balance by power spectrum analyses of electrocardiographic tracings recorded during anaesthesia; intraoperative adverse events; evaluation of surgical field; postoperative adverse events; patient's satisfaction and analysis of costs. 411 patients will be recruited in 14 Italian centers during an 18-month period.

DISCUSSION

We presented the development phase of this anaesthesiological on-going trial. The recruitment started December 4th, 2007 and up to 4th, December 2008, 314 patients have been enrolled.