Effect of Sevoflurane on Functional Recovery in Animals Sustaining Systemic Circulatory Arrest

Abstract

Objective: to study the effect of sevoflurane on functional recovery in animals after clinical death. Materials and methods. Experiments were carried out on male albino rats. The cardiac vascular fascicle was ligated to simulate temporary circulatory arrest. Its time was 10 minutes. Clinical death was modeled in the animals anesthetized with sevoflurane or chloral hydrate. The functional state of resuscitated animals was evaluated from the time of recovery of effective cardiac performance, spontaneous breathing, corneal reflex, and neurological deficit scores. Their elevated plus-maze behavior was examined. Results. The rats anesthetized with chloral hydrate, unlike those anesthetized with sevoflurane, showed an earlier recovery of spontaneous external breathing and corneal reflex and, in succeeding 2 days following resuscitation, less neurological deficit scores. In addition to a prompter recovery of central nervous system functions on postresuscitation day 4, the sevoflurane-anesthetized rats had a greater gain in body weight for its value on the day of clinical death modeling than the chloral hydrate-anesthetized rats. A study of their behavioral activity showed that the resuscitated rats of both groups differed from false-operated ones in a trend towards reduced number of executions, which is indicative of the higher level of rat phobic state in the postresuscitation period. No differences were observed between the groups of the resuscitated animals in all the indicators examined. Conclusion. Ten-minute clinical death modeling in sevoflurane-anesthetized rats accelerates neurological recovery and improves their general state as compared to chloral hydrate-anesthetized rats. At the same time, both anesthesia modes stop the development of the higher level of phobic state seen in the rats in the postresuscitation period. The findings do not preclude the involvement of the preconditioning properties of sevoflurane in the postresuscitation processes of brain functional recovery. Key words: circulatory arrest, sevoflurane.