Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Methods to Study Lipid Alterations in Neutrophils and the Subsequent Formation of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps
Published on: March 29, 2017
Remifentanil-induced alterations in neutrophil numbers after surgery
Toshiichro Inagi1, Hideko Hoshina2, Manzo Suzuki1
1Department of Anesthesiology, Musashikosugi Hospital Nippon Medical School, 1-396 Kosugi-cho Nakahara-ku, Kawaski, Kanagawa 211-8533 Japan.
Background:
Neutrophils are the first line of defense against invasive microorganisms during and after surgery. There is a possibility that different opioid analgesics used during surgery have different effects on the leucocyte count. We retrospectively analyzed the numbers of leucocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes just after surgery in patients who received remifentanil-based anesthesia and those who received fentanyl-based anesthesia.In female patients who underwent modified mastectomy or simple mastectomy with resection of a lymph node(s) or with biopsy of a sentinel lymph node(s) between January 2010 and December 2013 (n = 83), propensity score pairwise matching was performed according to the patient's age and procedure, and forty patients (Remifentanil group and Fentanyl group; n = 20 each) were analyzed.
Findings:
Postoperative numbers of leucocytes and neutrophils were significantly lower in patients who received remifentanil-based anesthesia than in those who received fentanyl-based anesthesia (p = 0.03, p = 0.014; leucocytes and neutrophils, respectively). The increases in the numbers of leucocytes and neutrophils were significantly lower in the patients in the remifentanil group (p = 0.009, p = 0.0046; increase in leucocytes and neutrophils, respectively).
Conclusions:
In conclusion, remifentanil-based anesthesia attenuates postoperative leucocyte and neutrophil counts. It is unknown whether this phenomenon indicates the possibility of immunosuppression. Further studies are required.
Related Concept Videos
Alterations in Respiration II
In Biot's breathing, the respiratory rate and depth are irregular, alternating between periods of deep gasping and apnea. Common causes...
Altered States of Awareness
The ingestion of substances like stimulants or hallucinogens leads to chemical alterations in the brain...
Alterations in Blood Pressure
Hypertension (High blood pressure)
Hypertension occurs when blood pressure readings consistently exceed the normal range. It is diagnosed when systolic blood pressure (the top number, indicating pressure while the heart...
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
Induced-fit Model
Enzymes exhibit substrate specificity, meaning that they can only bind to certain substrates. This is mainly determined by the shape and chemical...
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

