Combined sevoflurane-dexmedetomidine and nerve blockade on post-surgical serum oxidative stress biomarker levels in thyroid cancer patients

BACKGROUND: The incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing annually. Clinical routine thyroid surgery can be performed under a cervical plexus block, but cannot mediate the stress response during the surgery. If thyroid surgery is performed under nerve block, an inappropriate level of blockade may occur. Similarly, the stress response caused by surgery is more serious than that caused by conventional anesthesia. Therefore, it is important to combine blockade with more effective anesthesia methods. AIM: To investigate the effects of combining sevoflurane-dexmedetomidine inhalation general anesthesia with the cervical plexus nerve block on the post-surgical levels of the serum oxidative stress biomarkers levels in thyroid cancer patients. METHODS: = 49). The experimental group received a combination of inhaled sevoflurane-dexmedetomidine and cervical plexus block, while the control group received conventional general anesthesia. The groups were compared for serum levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) before and after surgery, and the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and norepinephrine (NE) levels at 1 and 12 h post-surgery. The Bispectral index (BIS) and the incidence of anesthesia side effects were also compared. The incidence of side effects was 10.20% (5/49) and 12.76% (6/47) in the experimental and control groups, respectively, the difference being non-significant. CONCLUSION: Sevoflurane-dexmedetomidine inhalation general anesthesia combined with cervical plexus nerve block can reduce the postoperative stress and inflammatory responses in thyroid cancer patients, while maintaining high anesthesia effectiveness and safety.