The epidural influence on gastric tonometry indicators in pigs submitted to intestinal manipulation

Background and objectives

The intestinal hypoperfusion occurring during surgeries decreases the gastric pH (pHi), induces acidosis and increases mortality [1]. The epidural improves gastric mucosal perfusion, increases the pHi and stimulates intestinal motility [2]. The present study was undertaken to investigate epidural effects on tonometric indicators in pigs submitted to exploratory laparotomy and to compare the effects of analgesic and anesthetic solutions.

Methods

Twenty-seven pigs (weight: 26 ± 2.33 kg) were anesthetized and monitored. The epidural catheter positioning was confirmed by radioscopy (T10–T11). The animals were randomized into a control group (saline solution), a 0.5 group (levobupivicaine S75-R25 0.5%, n = 9), and a 0.05 group (levobupivicaine S75-R25 0.05% + 4 μg/ml fentanyl, n = 9). Fifteen minutes after epidural injection, the animals were submitted to exploratory laparotomy and intestinal manipulation during 45 minutes. The tonometric, hemodynamic and laboratory parameters were collected before the epidural injection (T0), and 60 and 120 minutes after the injection (T1 and T2).

Results

The 0.5 group demonstrated a tendency to improve tonometric indicators: increased the pHi and decreased the gap CO₂, but reached no statistically significance. The IRVS decreased in T1 in the 0.5 and 0.05 groups (P < 0.05), remaining reduced at T2 in the 0.5 group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The epidural with levobupivicaine 0.5 or 0.05 in pigs submitted to intestinal manipulation had no statistically significant alterations in the tonometric indicators compared with the control group. The pHi and gap CO₂ had a tendency to a better performance in the 0.5 group associated with better hemodynamic parameters.