Effects of anaesthesia and surgery on immune status

The immunological implications of anaesthetic practice relate to the possibility that exposure to anaesthesia and surgery, by depressing a variety of both non-specific resistance mechanisms and specific immune responses, renders patients more liable to infections and the spread of malignancy in the period after operation. A review of the literature suggests that, although various anaesthetic agents themselves depress immune responses, the effects are shortlived and of minor importance when compared with the effects of the hormonal aspects of the stress response. A more aggressive approach to relief of pain and anxiety may be beneficial from the immunological point of view.