The Effects of Increasing Concentrations of Desflurane on Systemic Oxygenation During One-Lung Ventilation in Pigs

Laparoscopic colon surgery: unreliability of end-tidal CO2 monitoring

BACKGROUND

The relatively good haemodynamic and respiratory tolerance to abdominal CO(2) insufflation has mostly been observed in healthy patients during short-lasting laparoscopic procedures. End-tidal CO(2) pressure (PetCO(2)) has been shown to be a reliable method to assess arterial CO(2) (PaCO(2)) in the absence of cardio-respiratory disease in this setting. However, no study has investigated whether PetCO(2) is accurately related to PaCO(2) during laparoscopic colon surgery. Indeed, these procedures last longer, prolonging the pneumoperitoneum and requiring a Trendelenburg position. The aim of the present study was to measure the PaCO(2)-PetCO(2) difference over time in patients undergoing laparoscopic colon surgery and to determine whether PaCO(2) is reliably assessed by PetCO(2).

METHODS

Forty consecutive patients (ASA I and II) scheduled for laparoscopic colon surgery were anaesthetized and ventilated to obtain a PetCO(2) between 4.0 and 5.5 kPa. After initiation of CO(2) insufflation, PaCO(2) and PetCO(2) were recorded every 30 min during surgery.

RESULTS

No complication was observed during anaesthesia. The mean arterial pressure increased significantly after CO(2) insufflation and remained steady up to the end of pneumoperitoneum. The heart rate remained stable over time. The relation between PaCO(2) and PetCO(2) was not constant among patients and increased over time within the same patients. The R(2) values fluctuated and did not show a constant correlation between PaCO(2) and PetCO(2).

CONCLUSION

The correlation between PaCO(2) and PetCO(2) during laparoscopic colon surgery is inconsistent mainly due to inter- and intra-individual variability.

The effects of increasing concentrations of isoflurane and desflurane on pulmonary perfusion and systemic oxygenation during one-lung ventilation in pigs

During one-lung ventilation (OLV), hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) reduces venous admixture and attenuates the decrease in arterial oxygen tension by diverting blood from the nonventilated lung to the ventilated lung. In vitro, desflurane and isoflurane depress HPV in a dose-dependent manner. Accordingly, we studied the effects of increasing concentrations of desflurane and isoflurane on pulmonary perfusion, shunt fraction, and PaO(2) during OLV in vivo. Fourteen pigs (30-42 kg) were anesthetized, tracheally intubated, and mechanically ventilated. After placement of femoral arterial and thermodilution pulmonary artery catheters, a left-sided double-lumen tube (DLT) was placed via tracheotomy. After DLT placement, FIO(2) was adjusted at 0.8 and anesthesia was continued in random order with 3 concentrations (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 minimal alveolar concentrations) of either desflurane or isoflurane. Differential lung perfusion was measured with colored microspheres. All measurements were made after stabilization at each concentration. Whereas mixed venous PO(2), mean arterial pressure, cardiac output, nonventilated lung perfusion, and shunt fraction decreased in a dose-dependent manner, PaO(2) remained unchanged with increasing concentrations of desflurane and isoflurane during OLV. In conclusion, increasing concentration of desflurane and isoflurane did not impair oxygenation during OLV in pigs.

IMPLICATIONS

In an animal model of one-lung ventilation, increasing concentrations of desflurane and isoflurane dose-dependently decreased shunt fraction and perfusion of the nonventilated lung and did not impair oxygenation. The decreases in shunt fraction are likely the result of anesthetic-induced marked decreases in cardiac output and mixed venous saturation.