The influence of deep barbiturate anesthesia upon the regulation of extra- and intracellular pH in the rat brain during hypercapnia.

Abstract

AbstractIn order to study the influence of deep barbiturate anesthesia upon the regulation of extra‐ and intracellular pH in the brain, hypercapnia was induced in rats anesthetized for maximally three hrs with either 200–250 mg/kg of phenobarbital, or with 0.6 % halothane. There were no differences in the regulation of the CSF pH between the groups studied. However, both at 15 min at and 3 h the phenobarbital anesthesia was associated with a less efficient regulation of the intracellular pH'. At 15 min the regulation observed came close to that expected on the basis of pure physicochemical buffering. It is concluded that deep phenobarbital anesthesia, probably due to its effect on metabolism, can interfere with the mechanisms which regulate intracellular pH' during hypercapnia.