Peri-operative endothelial dysfunction in patients undergoing minor abdominal surgery: An observational study

This study aimed to assess the acute peri-operative changes in endothelial function after minor elective abdominal surgery. DESIGN A prospective, observational, single-centre study. SETTING A university hospital from February 2016 to January 2017. PATIENTS Sixty patients undergoing elective minor abdominal surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The change in endothelial function, expressed as the reactive hyperaemia index (RHI), was assessed by non-invasive digital pulse tonometry. RHI, biomarkers of nitric oxide bioavailability and oxidative stress were assessed prior to and 4 h after surgery. RESULTS RHI decreased significantly from 1.93 [95% confidence interval (95% CI 1.78 to 2.09)] before surgery to 1.76 (95% CI 1.64 to 1.90), P = 0.03, after surgery. The nitric oxide production, L-arginine/asymmetric dimethylarginine, decreased significantly from a ratio of 213.39 (95% CI 188.76 to 241.2) to a ratio of 193.3 (95% CI 171.82 to 217.54), P = 0.03. Plasma biopterins increased significantly after surgery, while the ratio between tetrahydrobiopterin and dihydrobiopterin was unchanged. Total ascorbic acid decreased significantly after surgery (P 
Source: European Journal of Anaesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Perioperative medicine Source Type: research