title: Respiratory mechanics during and after anaesthesia for major vascular surgery.
abstract: To evaluate the effects of major vascular surgery on respiratory mechanics, 11 patients undergoing general anaesthesia for abdominal aortic surgery were studied. Before aortic cross-clamping, chest wall elastance and resistance both increased (by 126% and 58%, respectively) when surgical retractors were placed. After aortic cross-clamping, lung elastance increased by 29%, accompanied by a decrease in cardiac index (22%) and an increase in pulmonary (17%) and systemic (15%) vascular resistance. After aortic unclamping, lung elastance decreased, although it remained higher than baseline values (by 12%). All cardiovascular variables returned to the values obtained before aortic cross-clamping.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science and Advanced Therapy, Section of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, S. Anna Hospital, University of Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Volta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verri
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Righini
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ragazzi
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pavoni
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alvisi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gritti
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015656:Respiratory Mechanics / Q000502:physiology*