Comparison of antioxidant effects of isoflurane and propofol in patients undergoing donor hepatectomy.

Background: The safety of healthy volunteer donors is one of the most important issues in living-donor liver transplantation. Use of the Pringle maneuver during donor hepatectomy can result in liver ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of isoflurane and propofol on IR injury caused by the Pringle maneuver during donor hepatectomy.

Methods: A total of 70 American Society of Anesthesiology I-II donors aged 18-65 years who underwent hepatectomy were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into 2 groups: propofol and isoflurane. Plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidative status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and oxidative stress index (OSI) were measured before surgery (t0) and after surgery (t1).

Results: There were no statistically significant differences in demographic features, anesthesia, and times of surgery between the groups (P > .05). Plasma TAC levels at t0 and t1 were significantly lower in the propofol group than in the isoflurane group (P < .05). OSI at t1 was significantly higher in the propofol group than in the isoflurane group (P < .05). MDA levels were significantly higher in the propofol group than in the isoflurane group at t0 (P < .05). MDA levels level were significantly higher in the isoflurane group than in the propofol group at t1 (P < .05).

Conclusions: Propofol may have protective effects against IR injury caused by the Pringle maneuver during donor hepatectomy in living-donor transplantations. However, the effectiveness of propofol for clinical use needs to be investigated further.