Cardiorespiratory changes in patients undergoing pulmonary resection using different anesthetic management techniques.

OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary resection may be associated with considerable alterations of the cardiorespiratory system. The ideal anesthetic regimen for these patients is not yet definitely determined.

DESIGN: Prospective, randomized study.

SETTING: Single-institutional, clinical investigation in a thoracic anesthesia department of a university hospital.

PARTICIPANTS: Fifty consecutive patients scheduled for elective thoracic surgery for lung cancer.

INTERVENTIONS: In 20 patients undergoing lobectomy, fentanyl/propofol/nitrous oxide/vecuronium anesthesia was used, and extubation was planned immediately after surgery (group 1A, early extubation). Another 20 patients with lobectomy were anesthetized during fentanyl/midazolam/vecuronium, and they were extubated in the intensive care unit (ICU) (group 1B, late extubation). Ten patients underwent pneumonectomy (extubation planned in the ICU) (group 2, pneumonectomy). Patients of groups 1A and 1B were selected according to a randomized sequence.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Extensive hemodynamic monitoring was performed using a pulmonary artery catheter by which right ventricular hemodynamics (right ventricular ejection fraction [RVEF], right ventricular end-systolic, and end-diastolic volumes) were additionally measured. Measurements were performed after induction of anesthesia (supine position, baseline values), before surgery (lateral position), 30 minutes after one-lung ventilation (OLV) was induced, at the end of surgery (supine position), 2 hours after surgery (in ICU), and on the morning of the first postoperative day. Pneumonectomy resulted in an increase in the pulmonary wedge pressure (from 12.2 +/- 2.9 to 18.3 +/- 3.8 mmHg) and a deterioration in right ventricular hemodynamics with a decrease in RVEF from 40.6 +/- 3.4% to 28.8 +/- 4.3% at the end of surgery. These changes were also seen on the morning of the first postoperative day. PaO2/FI02, Qs/Qt, VO2I, and DO2I were also significantly different between pneumonectomy and lobectomy patients. Intraoperatively, patients of group 1A and 1B showed almost similar cardiorespiratory data. During OLV, PaO2/FIO2 was significantly less reduced in group 1A (to 292 +/- 98 mmHg) than in group 1B (to 200 +/- 120 mmHg). Postoperatively, patients of group 1A were orientated, and physiotherapy could be started early. No relevant differences with regard to cardiorespiratory parameters were observed between group 1A and group 1B in the postoperative period until the first postoperative day.

CONCLUSIONS: In comparison with lobectomy patients, pneumonectomy resulted in more pronounced and sustained deterioration in right ventricular hemodynamics. The kind of anesthesia regimen did not influence most of the cardiorespiratory parameters intraoperatively, except for Qs/Qt, which was least compromised in the propofol patients during OLV. Early extubation could safely be performed in the lobectomy patients anesthetized with propofol without showing any negative cardiorespiratory effects.