Induced preconditioning of cardiac performance in coronary bypass surgery--sevoflurane vs propofol

Twenty ASA III and IV adult patients scheduled for elective coronary artery surgery were included in the study. Anesthesia was induced and maintained with either sevoflurane (sevoflurane group; n = 10) or propofol (propofol group; n = 10). All preoperative cardiac medications were continued until the morning of surgery. There were significant decreases in mean arterial blood pressure, cardiac index and ejection fraction after CPB in propofol group compared with sevoflurane. Further, the plasma creatine kinase myocardial isoenzyme concentrations were significantly higher in propofol group but did not approach the critical values needed for diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

It is concluded that, sevoflurane appears to be associated with better hemodynamic stability before and after CPB than propofol. This could be attributed to cardioprotective effect of sevoflurane during ischemia and reperfusion.