title: A comparison of pulmonary functions and oxygenation following local, spinal or general anaesthesia in patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair.
abstract: In order to compare the pulmonary effects of various anaesthetic techniques, 49 otherwise healthy patients needing inguinal hernia repair were randomized to general, spinal or local anaesthesia. Blood gases were drawn and spirometry performed pre- and postoperatively at fixed intervals. Results showed a superior ventilation and oxygenation pattern for local anaesthesia (p < 0.05). No statistically significant differences were found between the groups with respect to forced vital capacity (FVC) or forced expiratory volume per second (FEV1) but patients who had spinal anaesthesia performed worse, and for the group as a whole there was a significant reduction compared to preoperative values. We conclude that local anaesthesia is less detrimental to pulmonary function in inguinal hernia operations than spinal or general anaesthesia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery B, Kaplan Hospital, Rehovot, Israel.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Merhav
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rothstein
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eliraz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hana
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pfeffermann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D000772:Anesthesia, Local; D000775:Anesthesia, Spinal; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006552:Hernia, Inguinal / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011182:Postoperative Care; D013147:Spirometry; D014797:Vital Capacity