The effect of intrathecal sufentanil preconditioning against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the cardioprotective effect and hemodynamic response of intrathecally administered sufentanil on myocardial IR injury. BACKGROUND: Sufentanil, mu opioid receptor agonist, intravenously administered during clinical and experimental studies, has been shown to have a cardioprotective effect on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. METHODS: Thirty-two New Zealand type rabbits, which were anesthetized, were divided into four equal groups: sham, ischemia-reperfusion, sufentanil and ischemia-reperfusion+sufentanil. Sufentanil was administered intrathecally prior to ischemia. Hemodynamic parameters were monitored by electrocardiography and invasive arterial blood pressure measurements. In the ischemia-reperfusion groups, the degree of myocardial infarct was determined as the ratio of ischemic region to the risk area by a 1 % 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining. RESULTS: The mean infarct size in the ischemia-reperfusion group was 47.5 ± 7.0 %, whereas that of the ischemia-reperfusion+sufentanil group was found to be 34.2 ± 4.7 %, indicating a statistically significant difference (p = 0.002). The heart rate was different between the ischemia-reperfusion and the sufentanil groups for baseline measurement and between the ischemia-reperfusion and the ischemia-reperfusion+sufentanil groups at the 120th minutes measurement (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Intrathecal sufentanil appears to have a cardioprotective effect against myocardial ischemia--reperfusion injury in the experimental rabbit model (Tab. 1, Fig. 2, Ref. 19).