Porcine regional brain and myocardial blood flows during halothane-O2 and halothane-nitrous oxide anesthesia: comparisons with equipotent isoflurane anesthesia.

Regional distribution of brain and myocardial blood flow were examined in 9 instrumented isocapnic normothermic swine, using 15-microns diameter radionuclide-labeled microspheres injected into the left atrium. Minimal alveolar concentration (MAC) of halothane required to prevent gross purposeful movement in response to a noxious stimulus in 50% of the pigs was found to be 0.70%. Measurements were made on each animal during nonanesthetized state (control), 1.0 and 1.5 MAC halothane anesthesia, and the equivalent of 1.0 and 1.5 MAC halothane anesthesia, using 50% N2O. The order of anesthetized steps was randomized for each pig. Recovery periods of 60 minutes were interposed between the anesthetic treatments. During halothane + 50% N2O anesthesia, heart rate, cardiac output, mean aortic pressure, and rate-pressure product were higher than comparable levels of halothane-O2 anesthesia. Halothane caused dose-dependent vasodilatation in all regions of the brain. Cerebral, cerebellar, and brain-stem blood flows at 1.5 MAC halothane were 135%, 135%, and 115% of respective control values. Substitution of 50% N2O to maintain same MAC dose markedly exaggerated the increment in porcine cerebral and brainstem blood flows, especially at 1.0 MAC when perfusions in these regions were 204% and 128% of respective control values. At 1.5 MAC anesthesia produced by halothane + 50% N2O, the cerebral, cerebellar, and brain stem perfusions were 153%, 146%, and 129% of control values. Transmural myocardial blood flow decreased from control value with both levels of halothane anesthesia, but with equivalent MAC anesthesia produced by halothane + 50% N2O, myocardial perfusion remained near awake values.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)