Effects of Isoflurane and Propofol on Serum Immunoglobulins in off-pump Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patients

Both anesthesia and major surgeries may affect the immune system, especially the cell-mediated immune responses, but also the humoral immunity. Our goal was to assess the effect of propofol and isoflurane on the serum concentration of immunoglobulins G, M, A and E in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. This study was a double-blinded randomized clinical trial. Sixty patients were randomly divided into two equal groups receiving either isoflurane or propofol as the inhaled anesthetic agent during operation. Other parts of the medical conditions, anesthesia and surgery were quite similar in two groups. Baseline serum immunoglobulins G, M, A and E in both groups were measured by enzyme immunoassay one day prior to and four days after the surgery. Data were analyzed by the SPSS ver. 15 (SPSS, USA) using t-test, paired t-test and chi-square test. The mean serum IgG (p=0.378), IgM (p=0.593), IgA (p=0.095) and IgE (p=0.404) did not differ significantly between the isoflurane group and propofol group before the surgery. Serum immunoglobulins were significantly decreased after the surgery. However, the means of IgG (p=0.452), IgM (p=0.239), IgA (p=0.153) and IgE (p=0.482) did not show any significant difference between the two groups. In patients who undergo off-pump CABG surgery, both isoflurane and propofol cause decrease in serum IgG, IgM, IgA and IgE; however, there is no significant difference between them regarding the amount of this fall.