CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Asian J Neurosurg 2019; 14(04): 1095-1105
DOI: 10.4103/ajns.AJNS_173_19
Original Article

Effect of anesthetic agents on cognitive function and peripheral inflammatory biomarkers in young patients undergoing surgery for spine disorders

Asish Sahoo
0   Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, PGIMER, Chandigarh
,
Nidhi Panda
1   Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Division of Neuro-Anaesthesia, PGIMER, Chandigarh
,
Pranshuta Sabharwal
0   Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, PGIMER, Chandigarh
,
Ankur Luthra
0   Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, PGIMER, Chandigarh
,
Mukilan Balu
0   Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, PGIMER, Chandigarh
,
Rajeev Chauhan
0   Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, PGIMER, Chandigarh
,
Hemant Bhagat
1   Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Division of Neuro-Anaesthesia, PGIMER, Chandigarh
› Author Affiliations

Background: Exposure to anesthesia has been postulated to affect the cognitive function by inciting central nervous system inflammation. Hence, we planned to compare the psychometrical effects of anesthetic agents propofol, desflurane, or sevoflurane on postoperative cognitive function and also measure the change in concentration of serum S-100β, interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α to look for the contribution of systemic inflammation. Methods: This was a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Intuitional ethical committee approval and consent from patients were obtained. We enrolled 66 patients, allocated into three equal groups to receive either sevoflurane (n = 22), desflurane (n = 22), or propofol (n = 22). Standard anesthesia protocol was followed titrated to a bispectral index of 40–60. Patients with preoperative mini-mental state examination ≤23 were excluded. Each patient was assessed thrice with battery of cognitive tests in preoperative period (baseline), after 72 h (early postoperative cognitive dysfunction [POCD]), after 3 months (delayed POCD) of surgery. Serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and S-100β were measured preoperatively and 72 h after surgery. Results: Mean scores of various psychometric tests improved slightly in early postoperative period which was not statistically significant (P > 0.5). In delayed postoperative period, there was significant improvement in scores as compared to baseline (P < 0.5) in all the groups. There was nonsignificant change in the levels of biomarkers S-100β, TNF-α, and IL-6 between baseline and postoperative period in all the groups. Conclusion: In young patients, there is no effect of anesthesia on postoperative cognitive functions. There is no association of inflammatory markers with respect to the patient's cognitive status.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.




Publication History

Article published online:
09 September 2022

© 2019. Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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