[Comparison of changes in plasma concentrations of ACTH and beta-endorphin in cholecystectomy under general anesthesia and general plus epidural anesthesia]

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of ACTH (Corticotropin), published as a randomized controlled trial.

To study neuroendocrine response during cholecystectomy under general anesthesia with fentanyl and under general anesthesia with nitrous oxide plus thoracic epidural block, by determining plasma levels of ACTH and beta-endorphin.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 7 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

This was a prospective study of 2 randomly chosen groups of 7 patients each who were undergoing cholecystectomy.

Plasma levels of ACTH and beta-endorphin were determined at the following moments: A, upon arrival in the operating theater; B, after anesthetic induction and intubation; C, after incision; D, 30 minutes after start of surgery; E, after surgery but before extubation, and F, after arrival in the recovery room.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized study.

Because people in this ACTH (Corticotropin) study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Also recorded were mean arterial pressure and heart rate.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Anesthesia, Epidural, Anesthesia, General, Anesthetics, Inhalation, Anesthetics, Intravenous, Cholecystectomy and Fentanyl.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of ACTH (Corticotropin) in 7 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 1995 (Revista espanola de anestesiologia y reanimacion), a journal based in Spain.

More context: the ACTH (Corticotropin) compound page, all human trials.