The hyperglycaemic response to different types of surgery and anaesthesia

Abstract

Summary: The rise in blood sugar during anaesthesia without surgery and during surface, thoracic and intra-abdominal surgery, was measured. In patients anaesthetized primarily with thiopentone there was no significant rise without surgery and the rise was, in general, proportional to the stress of surgery, the largest being during intra-abdominal operations. Findings were similar in another series of patients anaesthetized primarily with propanidid. Five anaesthetic techniques were also compared during intra-abdominal surgery. In all nitrous oxide and tubocurarine were used and there was a bigger rise in patients in whom anaesthesia was induced with propanidid than in those who had thiopentone. The addition of 1 per cent halothane or phenoperidine 5 mg to the thiopentone/nitrous oxide/tubocurarine technique, led to a significantly smaller response. When a technique using droperidol/fentanyl/tubocurarine was employed the hyperglycaemic response was similar to that with thiopentone induction. © 1970 John Sherratt and Son Ltd.