Liver enzymes after retropubic prostatectomy in patients receiving continuous lumbar epidural analgesia or general anaesthesia
Hendolin, H.; Penttilä, I.M.
Annals of Clinical Research 14(1): 1-6
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-4762 PMID: 6182833 Document Number: 190697
In 38 patients subjected to retropubic prostatectomy the effects of continuous lumbar epidural analgesia for 24 h and the thiopentone-O2N2O-alcuronium-pethidine sequence with artificial ventilation on the serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), .alpha.-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBD) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) were studied. Per- and postoperative complications were recorded according to a prearranged plan designed to quantify the peroperative hemorrhage, postoperative deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary, circulatory and infectious complications. ASAT, ALAT and AP in the general group and ALAT in the epidural group showed significant increases on the 5th and 7th postoperative days. There existed no statistically significant difference between the groups. Of the patients with documented postoperative complications combined with hypoxemia, 82% showed a pathologic liver enzyme pattern in contrast to 9% of the patients with uneventful postoperative course. Evidently the method of anesthesia did not have an effect on the liver enzymes. Complications combined with postoperative hypoxemia seemed to be the factors responsible for the increases of liver enzymes.