ANTIOXIDANT DEPLETION DURING AORTIC-ANEURYSM REPAIR

Ischaemia-reperfusion injury generates oxygen-derived free radicals le ading to local and distant damage. A simple method of following oxidat ive activity is to measure the consumption of endogenous scavenging an tioxidants; an enhanced chemiluminescent assay was used to study this phenomenon in 21 patients undergoing surgery for abdominal aortic aneu rysm (AAA). Samples of peripheral venous blood were taken before induc tion of anaesthesia and then from a central venous line and the inferi or mesenteric vein before, during, and after clamping of the aorta. Fu rther specimens were taken from the central line at 2, 6 and 24 h afte r operation. Antioxidant concentration in the peripheral, central and inferior mesenteric blood were similar, indicating that anaesthesia an d surgical dissection had no effect. Levels decreased significantly in central and inferior mesenteric blood during and after clamping, but returned to normal by 24 h. These results confirm ischaemia-reperfusio n phenomena in AAA repair.