Ascorbic Acid Does Not Influence Consciousness Recovery After Anesthesia

Abstract

Several studies have examined the influence of general anesthesia on changes in consciousness and unconscious cognitive processes. However, much remains to be learned about potential moderators of general anesthetic agents, such as antioxidants including ascorbic acid, and their influence on the recovery of consciousness following general anesthesia. General anesthesia potentially affects plasma ascorbic acid levels and may impair consciousness during the postoperative period; however, published literature regarding these relationships is equivocal. Ascorbic acid is important for brain function and may be related to the return of postoperative consciousness through action on the synaptic receptors in the brain. This study was designed as a pretest—posttest repeated measures investigation. Ascorbic acid levels were measured at four time periods in patients (N = 50) undergoing surgery and general anesthesia. Following surgery, patients were administered a paper-and-pencil measure of concentration that served as an index of post-anesthesia consciousness. The results suggest that changes occur in plasma ascorbic acid levels at different time points during the anesthesia regimen in nonemergent surgical patients. No statistically significant relationships were found between plasma ascorbic acid levels and improved post-anesthesia consciousness, suggesting that ascorbic acid does not influence recovery of consciousness following general anesthesia.