The Physiologic Effects of Isoflurane, Sevoflurane, and Hypothermia Used for Anesthesia in Neonatal Rats (Rattus norvegicus).

Information regarding effective anesthetic regimens for neonatal rat pups is limited. Here we investigated whether isoflurane or sevoflurane anesthesia maintains physiologic parameters more consistently than does hypothermia anesthesia in neonatal rat pups. Rat pups (age, 4 d) were randomly assigned to receive isoflurane, sevoflurane, or hypothermia. Physiologic parameters monitored at 1, 5, 10, and 15 min included heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and oxygen saturation (%SpO2). Other parameters evaluated were loss and return of righting reflex, paw withdrawal reflex, and maternal acceptance. Corticosterone and glucose were sampled at 20 min and 24 h after anesthesia induction. Once a surgical plane of anesthesia was achieved, a skin incision was made on the right lateral thigh. After the procedure, all pups were accepted and cared for by their dam. Isoflurane- and sevoflurane-treated pups maintained higher HR, RR, %SpO2, and glucose levels than did hypothermia-treated pups. For both the isoflurane and sevoflurane groups, HR and RR were significantly lower at 10 and 15 min after anesthesia than at 1 min. Compared with hypothermia, isoflurane and sevoflurane anesthesia provided shorter times to loss of and return of the righting reflex. Although corticosterone did not differ among the groups, glucose levels were higher at 20 min after anesthesia induction than at 24 h in all anesthetic groups. We conclude that both isoflurane and sevoflurane anesthesia maintain physiologic parameters (HR, RR, %SpO2) more consistently than does hypothermia anesthesia in 4-d-old rat pups.