Comparison of Post-operative Liver Function between Thoracic Epidural Blockade Combined with N2O-O2 and General Anesthesia with Enflurane

Lee, Byung Ho; Chea, Jun Seuk; Chung, Mee Young; Kim, Beum Sik

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hepatic dysfunction may occur after single, or more usually repeated, exposures to the halogenated inhaled anesthetics. The cause may be free radical snd metabolites of inhaled anesthetics, immune reaction and hypoxic damage by decreasing total flows. The purpose of this study is to evaluate postoperative liver function between the general anesthesia and the thoracic epidural blockade supplemented with the light general anesthesia.
METHODS
Thirty patients were divided into two groups; 15 patients were aneshtetized with 2 vo1% of enflurane combined with nitrous oxide(2 I/min) and oxygen(1.5 l/min) in the general anesthesia group, and in 15 patients of the thoracic epidural blockade group thoracic epidural blockade with 2% lidocaine and light general anesthesia using nitrous oxide(2 l/min) and oxygen(1.5 l/min) were performed. Serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase(SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase(SGPT) and alkaline phosphatase were evaluated before anesthesia, 1, 3, 5 and 7 days after gastric surgery on both groups.
RESULTS
In the general anesthesia group, postoperative SGOT levels were increased above normal range but were within normal limits in the thoracic epidural blockade group. SGPT level was increased above normal range on postoperative one day in the general anesthesia group but no increase of postoperative SGPT levels was observed in the thoracic epidural blockade group. On postoperative seven days the level of alkaline phosphatase was increased within normal range in the general anesthesia but in the thoracic epidural blockade group the levels of alkaline phosphatase were not increased.
CONCLUSIONS
We consider that postoperative liver function is not influenced with thoracic epidural blockade supplemented with light general anesthesia for upper abdominal surgery.