The effect of low-rose prostaglandin E1 on circulation, respiration and body temperature during surgical anesthesia

We investigated the effects of low-dose prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) on circulation, respiration, and body temperature during surgical anesthesia. We studied 109 adult patients undergoing upper abdominal operations under thoracic epidural combined with inhalational anesthesia. Patients were divided into 2 groups; Control group (n = 42) and PGE1 group (n = 67). In PGE1 group, PGE1 infusion was started at the rate of 0.02 microgram.kg-1.min-1 before the induction of anesthesia and was terminated at the end of surgery. There were no differences between the groups in demographic, anesthetic and surgical characteristics. After treatment with PGE1, arterial pressure decreased slightly but significantly, resulting in lower arterial pressure in PGE1 group than in control group before the induction of anesthesia. After the induction of anesthesia, however, arterial pressure decreased significantly in both groups, and the differences in arterial pressure between the groups were not observed any more during surgery. Heart rate was not different between the groups throughout the study period. Intraoperative urine output was greater in PGE1 group than in control group. PaO2/FIO2 ratio was not different between the groups both before and during anesthesia. Rectal temperature remained slightly but significantly lower in PGE1 group throughout surgery. Rectal-to-palm temperature gradient tended to be smaller in PGE1 group 1 hour after the induction of anesthesia. Low-dose PGE1 reduced arterial pressure. However, the difference in arterial pressure between the groups was so small that the difference disappeared during surgery. Meanwhile, low-dose PGE1 increased urine output, suggesting that renal blood flow was better-maintained with PGE1. In spite of several investigations reporting an unfavorable effect of PGE1 on PaO2, low dose PGE1 did not affect PaO2 in this study. Finally low-dose PGE1 reduced core temperature, though slightly, probably through redistribution of the body heat.