Influence of combined epidural anesthesia on cognitive function, inflammation and stress response in elderly liver cancer patients undergoing surgery

Effects of combined epidural anesthesia on the cognitive function, inflammation and stress response in the elderly liver cancer patients undergoing surgery were explored. Elderly liver cancer patients (n=100) undergoing surgery in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from January 2015 to December 2018 were enrolled and randomly divided into observation group (n=50) and control group (n=50). In control group only conventional anesthesia was performed using 2 µg/kg fentanyl, 1.5 mg/kg propofol and 0.2 mg/kg atracurium, in addition to the procedures in the control group, combined epidural anesthesia was administered using 0.5% bupivacaine for 15 sec and maintained via 0.25% bupivacaine in the observation group. The anesthetic effect was observed and the arterial oxygen saturation (SaO(2)), heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and cognitive function scores by cognitive abilities screening instrument (CASI) were evaluated in the patients, and their blood was drawn to detect the inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), norepinephrine and epinephrine. The observation group exhibited a better anesthetic effect and obviously smaller decreases in the SaO(2) and MAP and increase in HR than the control group (P<0.05). The MMSE and CASI scores, and the content of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, MDA, CAT, norepinephrine and epinephrine in the observation group was obviously lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), while the content of SOD was evidently higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Overall postoperative conditions in the observation group was superior to the control group (P<0.05), with the incidence rate of cognitive disorder lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). Combined epidural anesthesia dramatically improves the postoperative conditions and cognitive function and relieve inflammatory and stress responses in the patients with a better anesthetic effect, thus holding promise for application.