Publication:

Effects of capnoperitoneum for laparoscopy on liver, renal and pulmonary functions: a prospective observational study

Background Laparoscopy is the mainstay of surgical intervention in today’s era. Carbondioxide is an ideal insufflation gas, for creating pneumoperitoneum for laparoscopic surgeries. Although capnoperitoneum has been established as safe gas, our study was carried out to assess any clinical or subclinical changes produced by capnoperitoneum in a semiurban setting thereby creating awareness among our suburban population and also to add to the existing research data.

Methods We studied 60 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgeries in various surgical disciplines at our institution between October 2014 and August 2016 and fulfilling the inclusion criteria. The pre-operative and post-operative values of liver, renal and pulmonary functions were collected. These parameters were assessed using paired t test. Patient’s with preexisting diseases of these systems were excluded from the study.

Results Of the 60 patients assessed, there was a change in the values of the pre and postoperative values of the liver, renal and the pulmonary function tests, but these changes were insignificant as assessed by the paired t test. The demographic data was representation of the population who took part in the study.

Conclusions Laparoscopic surgeries using capnoperitoneum produce a transient change in the parameters of the liver, renal and pulmonary functions. However, these insignificant changes also were evidenced to fall back to normal range within short interval of time. Thus, it can be concluded that capnoperitoneum does not produce any clinical or sub-clinical changes, and is considered safe, in patients with normal organ functions.