Based on a recent study involving high-risk patients undergoing major noncardiac surgery, when comparing maintenance of anesthesia with sevoflurane to that with propofol, which of the following is MOST likely true?
Perioperative myocardial ischemia after noncardiac surgery is a serious and relatively common complication. In patients with coronary artery disease, troponin release may occur in approximately eight percent of patients undergoing surgery and anesthesia while myocardial infarction may occur in approximately five percent of patients. Based on data from continuous electrocardiogram monitoring, myocardial ischemia may occur in up to 45 percent of these patients.
The American Heart Association has recommended the use of volatile anesthetics in patients with cardiovascular risk undergoing noncardiac surgery. Volatile agents such as sevoflurane, desflurane, and isoflurane have been noted to provide ischemic preconditioning against myocardial injury, especially in animal models. The authors of a recent study compared the effects of sevoflurane to those of propofol...
