Effects of OLV preconditioning and postconditioning on lung injury in thoracotomy

Objective: To observe the effects of intermittent one-lung ventilation (OLV) before and after surgery on the inflammatory cytokines and biomarkers of oxidative stress in serum of lung cancer patients undergoing open thoracotomy. Methods: Between June 2011 to March 2012, 80 patients undergoing lobectomy were classified into four groups nonrandomly: Group A, control group; B, OLV preconditioning group; C, OLV postconditioning group; D, OLV preconditioning-combined-with-postconditioning group. Neutrophil granulocyte (PMN), interleukin 6 (IL-6), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were assayed in plasma samples taken preoperatively (T1), intraoperatively (T2), and 2 hours postoperatively (T3). Results: Comparison of T1 with T2 and T3 documented significant increase in MDA, PMN, and IL-6 levels and decrease in SOD in the control group (p < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the levels of IL-6 and MDA decreased and SOD increased significantly at T2 in the OLV preconditioning group, at T3 in the OLV preconditioning combined postconditioning group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Preconditioning of intermittent OLV before thoracotomy combined with postconditioning of intermittent returning two-lung ventilation after surgery maybe alleviate systematic inflammatory response and oxidative stress for lung cancer patients