Predictive role of baroreflex sensitivity in the assessment of perioperative risk. Article

Violation of baroreflex sensitivity often accompanies the progression of chronic diseases. Given the fact that baroreflex dysfunction has long been known as a long-term prognostic marker of adverse cardiovascular disease outcomes, interest in the role of baroreflex sensitivity assessment in determining perioperative risk has increased significantly over the past decades. An analysis of the literature showed that for the query “baroreflex” + “anesthesia”, an automatic search in the PubMed database allows you to select 592 research papers, of which only 28 are randomized controlled trials. A significant amount of experimental and clinical data has been accumulated, indicating an important role of baroreflex during the perioperative period. The conducted research allows us to state with confidence the fact that the sensitivity of the baroreflex, equal to 3 ms/mm Hg regardless of the method of its assessment, it is a critical value below which the baroreflex function is associated with an increase in the probability of an adverse outcome, including the development of perioperative complications. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the increase in risk with a decrease in baroreflex sensitivity include an increase in the frequency of hemodynamic critical incidents, a greater susceptibility to the negative effects of mechanical ventilation, an increase in the need for infusion-transfusion therapy, a more pronounced pain syndrome and a violation of the immune system. The negative effect of general anesthetics and neuroaxial anesthesia on baroreflex leads to a further increase in risk. Given the role of baroreflex in the pathogenesis of perioperative disorders, the assessment of baroreflex can be a key point of an individual approach to the management of the perioperative period.