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Influence of Epidural Analgesia on the Catecholamine and Cyclic AMP Responses to Surgery
Author(s) -
Engquist A.,
FogMøller F.,
Christiansen C.,
Thode J.,
VesterAndersen T.,
Madsen S. Nistrup
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-6576.1980.tb01497.x
Subject(s) - medicine , catecholamine , anesthesia , epinephrine , epidural block , adrenergic , norepinephrine , heart rate , blood pressure , endocrinology , dopamine , receptor
The effects of neurogenic block on plasma concentrations of adrenaline, noradrenaline and cyclic AMP were studied. Eighteen patients were subjected to surgery of moderate or minor extent under enflurane anesthesia with or without epidural analgesia. The results show that adrenaline secretion during surgical stress is a response to neurogenic stimuli, since the increase found in patients subjected to hysterectomy under general anesthesia is blocked by the addition of epidural analgesia. Furthermore, plasma adrenaline after neurogenic block is comparable with adrenaline levels during minor surgical stress. The plasma noradrenaline concentration does not correlate with the extent of trauma. In contrast to adrenaline levels, noradrenaline concentrations varied insignificantly during and after surgery. However, the addition of epidural block induced a postoperative increase in noradrenaline apparently unrelated to changes in heart rate or blood pressure. Simultaneous measurements of the catecholamines and cyclic AMP indicate that adrenaline is of minor importance for plasma cyclic AMP in resting patients, whereas the increase in cyclic AMP elicited by surgery reflects adrenaline‐stimulated beta‐adrenergic activity.