Propofol anesthesia in children does not induce sister chromatid exchanges in lymphocytes.
BACKGROUND
Propofol is frequently used for general anesthesia in children although little is known about possible genotoxic effects in humans. We investigated the formation of sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in metaphase chromosomes of T-lymphocytes of children as a marker for possible genotoxocity following total intravenous anesthesia with propofol for minor surgical procedures.


METHODS
40 children ASA classification I-III were included (ASA I n=34, ASA II n=5, ASA III n=1) in the study. Anesthesia was induced by propofol (3mg/kg) and alfentanil. Succinylcholine or rocuronium were administered for muscle relaxation. After tracheal intubation anesthesia was maintained by continuous propofol infusion at 12 mg/(kgh). Blood samples were drawn before induction and after termination of anesthesia. Following a 72 h cell culture period, 25 T-lymphocyte metaphases per blood sample for all children were analyzed for SCE frequencies.


RESULTS
Total intravenous anesthesia with propofol on children did not influence SCE rates in metaphase chromosomes of T-lymphocytes. No SCE differences could be detected between blood samples before initiation and after termination of anesthesia (Wilcoxon signed rank test). Slightly elevated SCE rates were obtained in T-lymphocytes of girls compared to boys, but these differences did not reach statistical significance.


CONCLUSIONS
Propofol anesthesia under the chosen conditions did not induce the formation of SCE in children in vivo. No genotoxic effect of a short term exposure to propofol during pediatric anesthesia had been observed.
Krause
Thorsten K W
TK
Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. tkrause@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Jansen
Lars
L
Scholz
Jens
J
Böttcher
Harald
H
Wappler
Frank
F
Burmeister
Marc Alexander
MA
am Esch
Jochen Schulte
JS
D000293:Adolescent; D000771:Anesthesia, Intravenous; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008677:Metaphase / Q000502:physiology; D015742:Propofol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous; D015742:Propofol