J Anesth Perioper Med. 2017;4(3):108-113. https://doi.org/10.24015/ebcmed.japm.2017.0023

Effect of Penehyclidine on Dreaming Occurrence and Plasma Acetylcholine Variation During Propofol Anesthesia for Minor Gynecological Surgery

Shi-Xia Xu1,2*, Zhen-Zhen Zhang1,2*, He-Liang Sun2, and Jian-Jun Yang1,2

From 1Department of Anesthesiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, China; 2Department of Anesthesiology, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

*Shi-Xia Xu and Zhen-Zhen Zhang contributed equally to this work.

Correspondence to Dr. Jian-Jun Yang at yjyangjj@126.com.

EBCMED ID: ebcmed.japm.2017.0023 DOI: 10.24015/ebcmed.japm.2017.0023


Abstract

Background
Dreaming often occurs during anesthesia especially with using propofol, which is a poorly understood phenomenon on the basis of current available data. The present study aimed to determine whether penehyclidine can inhibit propofol anesthesia-related dreaming and evaluate the relationship between acetylcholine and propofol-induced dreaming.

Methods
Healthy women undergoing elective minor gynecological surgery were randomized to receive penehyclidine hydrochloride 0.01 mg/kg (penehyclidine group, n = 200) or the same volume of saline (saline group, n = 200) at 10 min before propofol injection. Immediately after surgery, blood samples of the women were collected to determine the plasma acetylcholine concentrations. Interviews concerning dreaming incidence, contents, as well as how she felt her dream (pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant) were conducted 3-5 minutes after she could speak out her name and take appropriate action according to the observer’s instruction.

Results
Penehyclidine did not affect dreaming incidences when compared with saline (39.0% vs. 47.5% , P = 0.086). There was no significant difference with respect to the age, weight, propofol dose, or surgery duration between penehyclidine group and saline group, as well as between dreamers and non-dreamers in the saline group. There was no significant difference with respect to the plasma acetylcholine concentrations between dreamers and non- dreamers in the saline group. Sixty-five women (68.0% ) recalled the contents of dreams among which 39 (60.0% ) were pleasant. Women who recalled dream contents had higher plasma concentrations of acetylcholine than women who did not (P = 0.000).

Conclusions
Penehyclidine cannot reduce the dreaming incidence in women during propofol anesthesia. But, the dreamers who can recall the dreaming contents during propofol anesthesia have higher plasma levels of acetylcholine. (Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; Chinese Clinical Trial Registry number, ChiCTR-TRC-14005033.)

Article Type
Original Article

Declaration of Interests
The authors have no potential conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81271216).

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