The present study was to examine the effect of stellate ganglion block (SGB) on bilateral regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) and postoperative cognitive function. Eighty patients undergoing selective coronary artery bypass graft with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were randomly and equally divided into two groups. The patients in group S were given right SGB with ropivacaine, while the patients in group C were injected with normal saline. We compared the bilateral rSO2 after SGB. Minimum Mental State Examination (MMSE), Visual Verbal Learning Test (VVLT), and Digital Span Test (DST) were applied to observe the effect on cognitive function. We found that the incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) 7 days after surgery in group S was lower than that in group C. The level of blocked side rSO2 of S group were significantly higher before CPB time of rewarming than that before SGB (P＜0.05), much higher than corresponding non-blocked side rSO2 before CPB (P＜0.05), and much higher than rSO2 level in group C before CPB and after CPB(P＜0.05). The non-blocked side rSO2 in group S before anesthesia were much lower than basic levels and those in group C (P＜0.05). It could be concluded from the above results that there was significant increase in the blocked-side rSO2 compared to the non-blocked side and there was significant decrease in the incidence of POCD compared to the control group after SGB.
Objective To evaluate the effects of low-dose epinephrine on cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2) and awakening time during one-lung ventilation (OLV) for thoracic surgery. Methods Thirty consecutive patients undergoing lobectomy from March to July 2016 in our hospital were randomly divided into an epinephrine group (n=15, 8 males and 7 females at an average age of 58.70±11.40 years) or a saline group (n=15, 7 males and 8 females at an average age of 57.00±11.40 years). They were continuously infused with 0.01 μg/(kg·min) epinephrine or saline after general induction. Hemodynamics was maintained ±20% of the baseline value. All patients were ventilated by a pressure control mode during OLV with tidal volume of 5-8 ml/kg and end-tidal carbon dioxide tension (EtCO2) of 35-45 mm Hg. Regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2) was monitored using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) continuously. Results Compared with the saline group, the epinephrine group had a high rScO2 during OLV, with a statisitical significance at OLV 40 min and 50 min (67.76%±4.64% vs. 64.08%±3.07%, P=0.016; 67.25%±4.34% vs. 64.20%±3.37%, P=0.040). In addition, the awakening time of patients in the epinephrine group was shorter than that of the saline group (P=0.004), and the awakening time was associated with the duration of low-dose rScO2 (r=0.374). Conclusion Continuous infusion of 0.01 μg/(kg·min) could improve the rScO2 during OLV and shorten awakening time in thoracic surgery.