Immediate Effects of Anesthesia Agents on Liver Function

Anesthetic agents and types may deteriorate liver function; therefore, choosing anesthetics with less hepatotoxicity is important. The elevations of serum aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels are frequently observed after surgical procedures, whether performed under general or spinal (regional) anesthesia. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate and compare the changes in liver enzymes following general anesthesia and regional anesthesia. An observational sheet was used to obtain data from patients and then statistically analyzed using the IMB Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistic software version (23). A significant difference in the liver enzymes levels change was determined with a p-value of < 0.05. it was observed that in both groups of general and regional anesthesia, the level of AST, ALT, and ALP enzymes was significantly elevated post-operative compared to pre-operative with (P=0.000), especially in the level of ALT enzyme. The current study indicated that both general and regional anesthesia caused increased liver enzymes.