Effects of anesthetics on post-operative 3-month neuroendocrine function after endoscopic transsphenoidal...

Anesthetic techniques can affect perioperative neuroendocrine function. The objective of this study was to compare 3-month post-operative neuroendocrine functional outcomes between sevoflurane and propofol anesthesia in patients undergoing endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (ETS) for removal of non-functional pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) retrospectively.

Among 356 patients who underwent ETS for removal of NFPAs under sevoflurane-remifentanil anesthesia (sevoflurane group, n = 103) or propofol-remifentanil anesthesia (propofol group, n = 253), 92 patients in each group were selected and their 3-month post-operative neuroendocrine functional outcomes (primary outcome measure) were compared after propensity score matching.

Overall changes in post-operative 3-month neuroendocrine function compared to pre-operative baseline did not differ between the sevoflurane and propofol groups (worsened: 32.6% vs 29.3%, persistently decreased: 9.8% vs 12.0%, improved: 12.0% vs 20.7%, normalized: 9.8% vs 12.0%, persistently normal: 18.5% vs 19.6%; P = .400). The incidence of pituitary hormone deficiency at 3 months post-operatively did not differ between the sevoflurane and propofol groups (adrenocorticotropic hormone deficiency: 18.5% vs 17.4%, P = 1.000; thyroid-stimulating hormone deficiency: 10.9% vs 3.3%, P = .081; gonadotropin deficiency: 54.3% vs 48.9%, P = .555; growth hormone deficiency: 45.7% vs 48.9%, P = .768; panhypopituitarism: 1.1% vs 1.1%, P = 1.000).

In patients undergoing ETS for removal of NFPAs, the effects of both sevoflurane-remifentanil and propofol-remifentanil anesthetic techniques on post-operative 3-month neuroendocrine functional outcomes were similar, suggesting that propofol and sevoflurane can be freely used in such patients in terms of post-operative intermediate-term neuroendocrine functional outcome.