Echocardiographic evaluation of global left ventricular function during high thoracic epidural anesthesia.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effects of high thoracic epidural anesthesia on left ventricular (LV) diastolic filling and systolic function in patients without heart disease.


METHODS
Prospective study.


METHODS
University hospital.


METHODS
24 ASA physical status I and II patients scheduled for elective noncardiac surgery.


METHODS
Patients received high thoracic (HTE; n = 12) or low thoracic (LTE; n = 12) epidural anesthesia.


RESULTS
Left ventricular diastolic filling was noninvasively determined by precordial echocardiography using a pulsed Doppler technique and with a newly developed acoustic quantification (AQ) method that automatically detects endocardial borders and measures cavity area. All measurements were performed in awake premedicated patients. In the HTE group, the extent of sensory blockade of T1-T5, at the least, was induced with 2% lidocaine 5 ml. During HTE, systolic blood pressure (119 +/- 16 vs. 108 +/- 14 mmHg, p < 0.01), heart rate (73 +/- 9.8 vs. 63 +/- 6.8 beats/min, p < 0.01), cardiac output (CO; 4.5 +/- 1.1 vs. 3.8 +/- 1.2 L/min, p < 0.05), and fractional area change (50 +/- 11 vs. 37 +/- 11%, p < 0.01) decreased significantly, whereas end diastolic area (9.4 +/- 1.4 vs. 10.3 +/- 1.1 cm2, p < 0.01) and end systolic area (4.8 +/- 1.3 vs. 6.0 +/- 1.1 cm2, p < 0.05) showed a significant increase. As a result, stroke volume was kept constant (63 +/- 14 vs. 60 +/- 19 ml). Pulsed Doppler derived indices such as peak velocity during the early filling (E) and the atrial contraction (A) phases, peak early to atrial velocity ratio (E/A), and acceleration time remained unchanged. AQ derived peak dA/dt during the early diastolic (D1) and the atrial contraction phases (D2) and D1/D2 also remained unchanged. In contrast, in the LTE group, no significant differences were noted in all systolic and diastolic indices obtained by pulsed Doppler and AQ method.


CONCLUSIONS
High thoracic epidural anesthesia causes a decrease in CO without changing LV ejection and diastolic filling performance in healthy subjects.
Niimi
Y
Y
Department of Anesthesia, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
Ichinose
F
F
Saegusa
H
H
Nakata
Y
Y
Morita
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000767:Anesthesia, Epidural; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013909:Thorax / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*