Effects of etomidate and propofol on immune function in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the effects of etomidate and propofol on immune function in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: Sixty patients who were scheduled for lung cancer surgery under general anesthesia were studied. The patients were randomly divided into an etomidate total intravenous anesthesia group (group E) and a propofol total intravenous anesthesia group (group P), with 30 cases in each group. Results: Within group comparison: The percentage of CD4+ in the two groups was significantly reduced at 24 hours post-operation (T-2) compared with the percentage before surgery, whereas the percentage of CD8+ was higher at T-2. Between group comparison: The CD4+ percentage of group E was higher than that of group P (P < 0.05) at T-2, whereas the CD8+ percentage was lower than that of group P (P < 0.05) at T-1. Conclusion: Using etomidate for anesthesia has less of an effect on immune function in patients with lung adenocarcinoma.