Effects of anaesthesia and surgery on serum opsonic capacity

Several factors of immune response are affected by anaesthesia and surgery. Opsonization as a phase of the phagocytic process was studied in ten patients undergoing cholecystectomy under balanced anaesthesia with thiopentone, suxamethonium, pancuronium, N2O + O2, fentanyl, dehydrobenzperidol and enflurane. The luminol-dependent chemiluminescence responses were depressed at the end of surgery in phagocytosis of patient-serum-opsonized zymosan and Bordetella pertussis (P less than 0.05). The responses to Bordetella pertussis were already depressed after the period of presurgery anaesthesia (P less than 0.05). The responses returned to preinduction values by the third postoperative day. Since the decreases could only be observed with diluted serum and there were no infectious complications in the patients, the serum opsonic capacity was considered clinically sufficient during and after anaesthesia and surgery.