Sevoflurane and isoflurane protect against bronchospasm in dogs.
BACKGROUND
Halothane and isoflurane have been shown to be effective in reversing bronchoconstriction; however, the effects of sevoflurane have not been well defined. We studied whether sevoflurane, compared with isoflurane, attenuates bronchospasm in dogs.


METHODS
Twenty-four dogs sensitized to Ascaris suum were assigned to three groups: control (n = 8), sevoflurane (n = 8), or isoflurane (n = 8). In all dogs, anesthesia was induced with pentobarbital. In the sevoflurane and isoflurane groups, the volatile anesthetics were administered at an end-tidal anesthetic concentration of 1 MAC throughout the study. After measurement of pulmonary resistance (RL) and dynamic pulmonary compliance (Cdyn) at baseline, A. suum antigen was administered intravenously into the systemic circulation to induce anaphylaxis, and RL and Cdyn were recorded continuously for 120 min after antigen challenge.


RESULTS
Effects on RL and Cdyn were maximal 5 min after the start of systemic administration of antigen in all groups. Both 1 MAC sevoflurane and 1 MAC isoflurane significantly attenuated the increase in RL provoked by antigen challenge, but the attenuation from 10 to 15 min after challenge in the sevoflurane group was not significantly different from that in the control group. There was no significant difference in RL between sevoflurane and isoflurane. For both sevoflurane and isoflurane, attenuation of the decrease in Cdyn was not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in Cdyn between sevoflurane and isoflurane.


CONCLUSIONS
Sevoflurane is as effective as isoflurane in attenuating bronchoconstriction associated with anaphylaxis in dogs. Sevoflurane may be a useful alternative to halothane, enflurane, or isoflurane in the treatment of bronchospasm in asthma or anaphylaxis.
Department of Anesthesiology, Jichi Medical School, Tochigi-ken, Japan.
H
H
Mitsuhata
J
J
Saitoh
R
R
Shimizu
H
H
Takeuchi
N
N
Hasome
Y
Y
Horiguchi
D000777:Anesthetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001986:Bronchial Spasm / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016084:Bronchoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects; D004285:Dogs; D004987:Ethers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007530:Isoflurane / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008170:Lung Compliance / Q000187:drug effects; D008738:Methyl Ethers; D000077149:Sevoflurane
D000777:Anesthetics; D004987:Ethers; D008738:Methyl Ethers; D000077149:Sevoflurane; D007530:Isoflurane