Does Type of Anesthesia Influence Inflammation Change After Breast Surgery?

Summary

The Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) is a frequently used biomarker of the systemic inflammatory response and is considered one of the most sensitive markers of inflammation. Many studies have documented the association between the use of opioid drugs in the acute phase -as it can be considered the use during general anesthesia- and the increase of the NLR value. Such increase could determine a temporary phase of immunodepression in the immediate post operative period with consequent increase of the inflammatory state. This study intends to assess whether different anesthetic techniques can be associated with different variations of the intra-patient NLR value between pre- and post-surgery. Patient will be randomized to receive either local regional anesthesia protocols with thoracic wall blocks (PEC I and serratus plane block) associated with opioid-free general anesthesia (PECS + Opioid-free GA) or general anesthesia.

Timeline

Start

2019-10-31

Primary completion

2021-11-01

Completion

2022-11-01

Publications

• Brescia F, Favero A, Segatto I, Massarut S, Zanier C, Fabiani F, Nadalini E, Morabito A, Montico M, Zucchetto A, Zanussi S, Baldassarre G, Belletti B. Impact of opioid-free general anesthesia with locoregional blocks during breast cancer surgery on systemic inflammatory response: results from a randomized controlled trial. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2025 Jun 25:rapm-2025-106504. doi: 10.1136/rapm-2025-106504. Online ahead of print.

Drugs

Indications