Plasmatic vasopressin in patients undergoing conventional infra-renal abdominal aorta aneurysm repair

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate plasmatic arginine vasopressin (AVP) levels in patients undergoing scheduled conventional abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. METHODS: Plasmatic AVP concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay in 22 non-consecutive adult patients undergoing infra-renal AAA repair. They were under combined general and epidural anesthesia at the following time frames: 1 - pre-operative (T0); 2 - 2h (T1) and 6h (T2) after the surgical procedure; 3 - in the morning at the first (T3), second (T4) and third (T5) post-operative days. Some clinical and laboratory variables were also recorded. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 68±10 years; 17 were males. Plasmatic AVP (mean±SD; pg/mL) was within the normal range at T0 (1.4±0.7; baseline), increasing significantly at T1 (62.6±62.9; P<0.001) and at T2 (31.5±49.7; P