H. Salman et al., EFFECT OF SODIUM THIOPENTONE ANESTHESIA ON THE PHAGOCYTIC-ACTIVITY OFRAT PERITONEAL-MACROPHAGES, Life sciences (1973), 63(25), 1998, pp. 2221-2226
Citations number
21
Categorie Soggetti
Biology,"Medicine, Research & Experimental","Pharmacology & Pharmacy
To elucidate the effect of sodium thiopentone anesthesia on the functi
on of phagocytic cells, albino rats were anesthetized with 60 mg/kg. o
f sodium thiopentone. After 90 min., peritoneal macrophages were harve
sted and their capacity for superoxide anion generation was detected.
Following anesthesia for 90 min. latex particles were injected intrape
ritonealy, and after additional 30 min. the macrophages were derived,
embedded in agar and the number of cells engaged in phagocytosis, as w
ell as the number of latex particles engulfed by each individual cell
were counted in semi-thick sections. Macrophages of anesthetized anima
ls showed a statistically significant decrease of both superoxide anio
n generation and mean number of phagocytic cells, and engulfed fewer p
articles than those of the controls. Similar results were obtained fol
lowing incubation of the cells with sodium thiopentone in vitro. The s
erum corticosterone level in anesthetized rats was significantly highe
r than that of the control animals. The results indicate that impaired
phagocytosis following anesthesia induced by sodium thiopentone, in a
ddition to alterations of the immune system caused by surgical trauma,
may be one of the reasons for increased susceptibility to infections
of surgical patients during the postoperative period.