A comparative study of influence of isoflurane and propofol on IL1, IL6, TNF serum levels after craniotomy for supratentorial brain tumors

Background: The purpose of this randomized, singlecenter study was to prospectively investigate the impact of anesthetic techniques for craniotomy on the release of cytokines (interleukin (IL)1, IL6, tumor necrosis factor factoralpha (TNFα)) and to determine whether intravenous anesthesia compared to inhalational anesthesia attenuates the inflammatory response.Methods and Materials: The study enrolled 60 patients undergoing craniotomy, allocated into two equal groups to receive either Isoflurane (n=30) and Propofol (n=30). Noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring was used. Serum levels of IL1, IL6 and TNFα were evaluated before and at the end of surgery and anesthesia.Results: Although there was a significant rise in serum level of inflammatory cytokine but compared with patients anaesthetized with Isoflurane, patients who received Propofol had significant lower levels of IL1, IL6 and TNFa after surgery (p lt;0.05).Conclusion: Patients who received Propofol had lower levels of IL1, IL6 and TNFα after surgery. Our findings should incite future studies to prove a potential medically important antiinflammatory role of Propofol in neuroanesthesia.