Effects of Different Volatile Anesthetics on Cytokine and Chemokine Production After Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Patients Undergoing Living-Donor Kidney Transplant

OBJECTIVES: Renal transplant is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease. Ischemiareperfusion damage is a major cause of early renal dysfunction during the perioperative period. Ischemic hypoxic damage increases local inflammation, leading to secretion of cytokines and chemokines. Anesthetic conditioning is a widely described strategy to attenuate ischemia-reperfusion injury. Here, we compared the effects of desflurane and sevoflurane on serum proinflammatory cytokines and urine chemokines in living-donor kidney transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty donor-recipient couples were included in this randomized study. Anesthesia maintenance was provided by desflurane or sevoflurane. Patient demographic characteristics, immunologic data, clinical data, and hemodynamic parameters were recorded. Tumor necrosis factor α, interleukins 2 and 8, chemokines 9 and 10, and serum creatinine levels were studied from pretransplant, posttransplant days 1 and 7, and posttransplant months 1 and 3 sample results. Estimated glomerular filtration rates were calculated. Acute rejection episodes and graft loss within 6 months posttransplant were recorded. RESULTS: Seventy donor-recipient couples completed the study. There were no significant differences in demographic, immunologic, and clinical data between desflurane and sevoflurane groups (P > .05). Tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 2, chemokine 9, and chemokine 10 levels were similar preoperatively and on postoperative days 1 and 7 and months 1 and 3 (P > .05). Serum interleukin 8 levels were significantly higher in patients who received sevoflurane on postoperative days 1 (P = .045) and 7 (P = .037). No significant differences were detected in serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate between groups (P > .05). No graft loss occurred within 6 months posttransplant. CONCLUSIONS: Although sevoflurane seemed to produce higher interleukin 8 levels posttransplant, both desflurane and sevoflurane had similar effects on posttransplant kidney function. We suggest that both agents have protective effects on ischemic-reperfusion damage in living-donor kidney transplant recipients.