Anesth Analg 2004;98:994-998
© 2004 International Anesthesia Research Society
doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000104610.99716.37
ANESTHETIC PHARMACOLOGY
Preoperative Oral Dextromethorphan Attenuated Tourniquet-Induced Arterial Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Increases in Knee Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Patients Under General Anesthesia
Soichiro Yamashita, MD*,
Hiroshi Yamaguchi, MD
,
Yu Hisajima, MD*,
Kazuhiro Ijima, MD*,
Kaori Saito, MD*,
Ai Chiba, MD*, and
Toru Yasunaga, MD
Departments of *Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine and
Orthopedics, Iwaki Kyoritsu General Hospital, Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan; and
Department of Anesthesia, Ryugasaki Saiseikai Hospital, Ryugasaki, Ibaraki, Japan
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Soichiro Yamashita, MD, Acute Care Neurology, Division of Brain Injury Outcomes, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 600 N. Wolfe St., Jefferson 1-109, Baltimore, MD 21287. Address e-mail to soichi2003{at}aol.com
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Abstract
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The precise mechanism of tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increase is unknown. We determined the effect of preoperative oral dextromethorphan (DM) on arterial blood pressure and heart rate changes during tourniquet inflation in knee cruciate ligament reconstruction patients under general anesthesia. Patients in the DM group (n = 38) received oral DM 30 mg, and patients in the control group (n = 38) received oral placebo 2 h before the induction of anesthesia. Anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane 2.0% and N2O in 33% oxygen, and the trachea was intubated until the end of surgery. Arterial blood pressure and heart rate were measured at 0, 30, and 60 min after the start of tourniquet inflation. Systolic arterial blood pressure and heart rate at 60 min in the control group were significantly more than those in the DM group (131.1 ± 15.8 mm Hg versus 123.6 ± 15.9 mm Hg [P < 0.05] and 74.1 ± 11.3 bpm versus 67.8 ± 8.5 bpm [P < 0.01], respectively). The percentage increase in systolic arterial blood pressure and heart rate in the DM group was also attenuated when compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, preoperative oral DM 30 mg significantly attenuated arterial blood pressure and heart rate increases during tourniquet inflation under general anesthesia.
IMPLICATIONS: We demonstrated that preoperative oral dextromethorphan 30 mg significantly attenuated arterial blood pressure and heart rate increases at 60 min during tourniquet inflation in patients undergoing knee cruciate ligament reconstruction under general anesthesia.
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Introduction
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Tourniquet inflation is often used in orthopedic surgery of the upper and lower limbs to reduce blood loss and provide good surgical conditions. However, tourniquet inflation is sometimes accompanied by severe pain and a continuous increase in systemic arterial blood pressure (1–4). Tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increases may develop after tourniquet inflation for 30–60 min despite adequate anesthesia for the surgical procedure, and these changes are often resistant to analgesic drugs and profound anesthesia depth (3–5).
The precise mechanism of tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increase is unknown, although several possible explanations have been proposed (4,6–9). Satsumae et al. (10) reported that preoperative IV ketamine 
0.25 mg/kg, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, significantly prevented tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increase in patients undergoing knee surgery under general anesthesia. They hypothesized that the tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increase might be related to NMDA receptor activation by peripheral noxious stimuli from the extremities. However, their study may be insufficient to argue the hypothesis because ketamine itself has an antinociceptive effect.
Dextromethorphan (DM) is a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist that can suppress central sensitization of the dorsal horn neurons in the spinal cord triggered by nociceptive afferent input from the periphery (11,12). Several studies have shown that DM pretreatment may prevent the sensitization of nociceptive neurons (13–15). Investigating the effect of DM, which is not a direct antinociceptive drug, on tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increase will be helpful to argue the hypothesis. Therefore, we investigated the effect of preoperative oral DM on arterial blood pressure and heart rate changes during tourniquet inflation in patients undergoing knee cruciate ligament reconstruction under general anesthesia.
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Methods
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This study protocol was approved by the local ethical committee, Iwaki Kyoritsu General Hospital, Fukushima, Japan, and was performed in a randomized, double-blinded, prospective fashion. Written, informed consent was obtained from each patient. Seventy-six patients, ASA physical status I–II, undergoing knee cruciate ligament reconstruction with tourniquet inflation under general anesthesia, were included in this study. Patients with hypertension, ischemic heart disease, cardiac arrhythmias, and diabetes mellitus were excluded from the study. The patients were randomly assigned to either the DM group (n = 38) or the control group (n = 38) by using a random numbering card. A sample-size estimate indicated that 38 patients per group would give a power of 80% at a level of 0.05 for detecting a difference of 6.5% (approximately 6.5% in preliminary data) in the percentage increase of the baseline arterial blood pressure at 60 min after the start of tourniquet inflation.
All patients received oral diazepam 5 mg and ranitidine 150 mg 2 h before the induction of anesthesia. At the same time, patients in the DM group received oral DM 30 mg, and patients in the control group received oral placebo. After IV infusion of acetated Ringer’s solution 10 mL/kg, anesthesia was induced with thiamylal 5 mg/kg IV, and the trachea was intubated after the administration of vecuronium 0.1 mg/kg IV. Anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane and N2O in 33% oxygen. Ventilation was controlled mechanically to maintain end-tidal CO2 in the 35–40 mm Hg range. The usual monitoring was used. The end-tidal sevoflurane concentration was kept at 2.0% during the study period regardless of arterial blood pressure. When systolic arterial blood pressure increased to more than 170 mm Hg, fentanyl 100 µg was given IV, and these patients’ data were excluded from further analysis.
After skin incision, tourniquet inflation was performed at the thigh level by using 300 mm Hg of pressure. Arterial blood pressure and heart rate were recorded at 0, 30, and 60 min after the start of tourniquet inflation. After surgery, the anesthetics were terminated, and the patient’s trachea was extubated after neuromuscular blockade was antagonized by using atropine 0.02 mg/kg IV and neostigmine 0.05 mg/kg IV.
Statistical comparison was made between the DM group and the control group. Categorical data were compared by using the 
2 test, and continuous data were compared by using the two-tailed Student’s t-test. Hemodynamic changes were analyzed by two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni’s multiple comparison test. A statistical application, StatView Version 5 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC), was used for statistical analysis. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
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Results
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One patient in the DM group and one patient in the control group were excluded from the study because their systolic arterial blood pressure increased to more than 170 mm Hg after skin incision, and fentanyl 100 µg was given IV. The statistical analysis was performed with the remaining patients’ data.
There were no significant demographic differences between the groups (Table 1). No patient complained of symptoms related to the side effects of DM, such as dizziness, before anesthesia. Table 2 shows the hemodynamic changes during tourniquet inflation. Hemodynamic values at the start of tourniquet inflation (baseline) were not significantly different between the groups. Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure at 60 min were significantly increased when compared with that at baseline in both the control and DM groups (P < 0.0001), but systolic arterial blood pressure at 60 min in the control group was significantly more than that in the DM group (131.1 ± 15.8 mm Hg versus 123.6 ± 15.9 mm Hg; P < 0.05). Heart rate at 60 min significantly increased when compared with that at baseline in the control group (P < 0.0001), but heart rate did not significantly change during the study period in the DM group. Heart rate at 60 min in the control group was significantly faster than that in the DM group (74.1 ± 11.3 bpm versus 67.8 ± 8.5 bpm; P < 0.01). Figure 1 demonstrates the percentage increase of systolic arterial blood pressure and heart rate during tourniquet inflation. In both the control and DM groups, systolic arterial blood pressure significantly increased at 60 min after the start of tourniquet inflation (P < 0.0001), but the percentage increase in systolic arterial blood pressure in the DM group was significantly attenuated when compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05). Heart rate in the control group significantly increased at 60 min after the start of tourniquet inflation (P < 0.0001), but heart rate in the DM group did not significantly change during the study period. The percentage increase in heart rate in the DM group was significantly reduced when compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05).
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Figure 1. The percentage increase of baseline hemodynamic data during tourniquet inflation. The percentage increase in systolic arterial blood pressure in the DM group was significantly attenuated when compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05). The percentage increase in heart rate in the DM group was also reduced when compared with that in the control group (P < 0.05). DM = dextromethorphan. Values are expressed as mean ± SD. *P < 0.0001; ** P = 0.0002 when compared with baseline. #P < 0.05 when compared with 30 min.
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Discussion
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We demonstrated that preoperative oral DM significantly attenuated arterial blood pressure and heart rate increases during prolonged tourniquet inflation in patients undergoing knee cruciate ligament reconstruction under general anesthesia. Satsumae et al. (10) reported that a preoperative small dose of IV ketamine significantly prevented tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increases in patients undergoing knee surgery under general anesthesia, and they argued that tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increases might be related to NMDA receptor activation by peripheral noxious stimuli from the extremities. Our results may more strongly suggest the relationship between tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increases and NMDA receptor activation.
DM is not a direct antinociceptive drug, but a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist that may suppress central sensitization of the dorsal horn neurons in the spinal cord triggered by nociceptive afferent input from the periphery. Experimental animal studies have shown that DM can reduce the windup phenomenon (11), formalin-induced increases in spinal cord c-fos messenger RNA expression, and pain behavior (12). Clinically, several studies have suggested that oral DM treatment might prevent the sensitization of nociceptive neurons (13–15). Although its duration of action as an NMDA receptor antagonist is unknown, the elimination half-life of orally administered DM is approximately eight hours (16). Accordingly, we supposed that preoperative oral DM, as an NMDA receptor antagonist, attenuated tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increases by modulating a windup process of nerve transmission of peripheral noxious stimuli from the extremities toward high brain centers.
We should also consider the relationship between tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increases and sympathetic nervous system changes. It has been demonstrated that tourniquet-induced arterial blood pressure increases are correlated with activation of the sympathetic nervous system (8,9). A possible interaction between catecholamines and NMDA receptor activation in the control of blood pressure at the level of the spinal cord has been investigated in animals (17–19). However, it is not clear whether oral DM directly blunted the increase of sympathetic outflow during tourniquet inflation through NMDA receptor antagonism in this study.
The findings of this study are concerned with the effects of DM on other parts of the central nervous system, because DM is not a specific NMDA antagonist. DM possesses affinity for serotonin receptors at relatively large concentrations compared with its affinity for NMDA receptors (20,21). Moreover, it has been suggested that DM indirectly modulates serotoninergic transmission at serotonin receptors through attenuation of the glutamatergic receptors (22).
A result conflicting with our hypothesis has been reported. Kauppila et al. (23) found that DM 100 mg given orally to 8 healthy volunteers did not attenuate pain intensity induced by tourniquet ischemia to the hand. However, pain intensity evaluated every 2 minutes for 6 minutes after submaximal exercise with the ischemic hand after tourniquet inflation was not induced by noxious stimulation which persisted for a relatively long time, such as that induced by tourniquet pain.
Our findings are significant, but the effect of DM may not be strong enough to use clinically in orthopedic surgery involving a tourniquet. A larger dose of DM may be more effective to attenuate the hemodynamic changes related to tourniquet inflation. DM may also affect postoperative pain and recovery, although we did not investigate it in this study. Weinbroum et al. (24) reported that oral DM 60 or 90 mg given once before surgery and once daily for two days after surgery helped to reduce pain intensity, minimized sedation, and spared IV patient-controlled analgesia morphine after orthopedic oncology surgery. Wadhwa et al. (25) demonstrated that oral DM 200 mg every eight hours led to a modest reduction in morphine requirements but no reduction in pain levels in knee surgical patients undergoing postoperative passive knee movement. Further study to investigate the appropriate dose of DM for use in orthopedic surgery involving a tourniquet is needed.
There are two limitations in this study. First, we could not show the effect of DM on tourniquet-induced pain itself or the relationship between tourniquet-induced pain and arterial blood pressure increase because this study was performed with patients under general anesthesia. Second, anesthetic depth might not be identical among the patients, because we did not use a bispectral index or auditory evoked potential index to ensure similar anesthetic depth. However, the end-tidal sevoflurane concentration was maintained at 2.0% during the study period. Moreover, the intensity of noxious stimuli that the patients received during surgery might be relatively homogeneous because of the uniform surgery. Therefore, we believe that there may have been only a small difference in anesthetic depth between the groups during the study period.
In conclusion, preoperative oral DM 30 mg significantly attenuated arterial blood pressure and heart rate increases during prolonged tourniquet inflation in patients undergoing knee cruciate ligament reconstruction under general anesthesia.
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Accepted for publication October 15, 2003.
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Abstract
Introduction
