Propofol administration to the fetal-maternal unit preserved cardiac function in late-preterm lambs subjected to severe prenatal asphyxia and cardiac arrest

Aims Cardiac dysfunction is reported after severe perinatal asphyxia. We hypothesized that maternal propofol anaesthesia during emergency caesarean section diminished cardiac injury in preterm fetuses exposed to global severe asphyxia in utero in comparison to isoflurane anesthesia. We tested if propofol decreased the activity of pro-apoptotic caspase-3 by activating the anti-apoptotic AKT kinase family and the signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT-3).