Effect of Thoracic Epidural Anesthesia in a Rat Model of Phrenic Motor Inhibition after Upper Abdominal Surgery

Abstract

Abstract Editor’s Perspective What We Already Know about This Topic What This Article Tells Us That Is New Background One important example of impaired motor function after surgery is diaphragmatic dysfunction after upper abdominal surgery. In this study, the authors directly recorded efferent phrenic nerve activity and determined the effect of the upper abdominal incision. The authors hypothesized that phrenic motor output would be decreased after the upper abdominal incision; it was also hypothesized that blocking sensory input from the incision using thoracic epidural anesthesia would diminish this incision-induced change in phrenic motor activity. Methods Efferent phrenic activity was recorded 1 h to 10 days after upper abdominal incision in urethane-anesthetized rats. Ventilatory parameters were measured in unanesthetized rats using whole-body plethysmography at multiple time points after incision. The authors then determined the effect of thoracic epidural anesthesia on phrenic nerve activity and ventilatory parameters after incision. Results Phrenic motor output remained reduced by approximately 40% 1 h and 1 day after incision, but was not different from the sham group by postoperative day 10. One day after incision (n = 9), compared to sham-operated animals (n = 7), there was a significant decrease in spike frequency area-under-the-curve (median [interquartile range]: 54.0 [48.7 to 84.4] vs. 97.8 [88.7 to 130.3]; P = 0.0184), central respiratory rate (0.71 [0.63 to 0.79] vs. 0.86 [0.82 to 0.93]/s; P = 0.0460), and inspiratory-to-expiratory duration ratio (0.46 [0.44 to 0.55] vs. 0.78 [0.72 to 0.93]; P = 0.0023). Unlike humans, a decrease, not an increase, in breathing frequency has been observed after the abdominal incision in whole-body plethysmography. Thoracic epidural anesthesia attenuated the incision-induced changes in phrenic motor output and ventilatory parameters. Conclusions Upper abdominal incision decreased phrenic motor output and ventilatory parameters, and this incision-induced impairment was attenuated by thoracic epidural anesthesia. The authors’ results provide direct evidence that afferent inputs from the upper abdominal incision induce reflex inhibition of phrenic motor activity.