B a c k g r o u n d: Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is considered a reliable assessment method of a balance between cerebral oxygen demand and supply. One of forms of anaesthesia applied during extensive abdominal surgical procedures is the epidural anaesthesia. Its application in addition to the general anaesthesia is a commonly accepted form of anaesthesia in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. The aim of this study was to verify the hypothesis that epidural blocks may have eff ects on cerebral saturation in patients undergoing abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia.

M e t h o d s: Cerebral saturation was monitored intrasurgically. Reduction of cerebral oxymetry by over 25% in relation to the baseline, or cerebral oxymetry value below 50% was considered clinically significant.

R e s u l t s: One hundred and one (101) subsequent and non-randomised patients, age between 35 and 84 years (mean 64 ± 10) qualifi ed for major abdominal surgeries were enrolled. In 14 (13.9%) patients of 101 enrolled a clinically signifi cant reduction of cerebral saturation was observed. In 50 (49.5%) of the enrolled patients, the epidural anaesthesia was applied along the general anaesthesia. A clinically signifi cant reduction of cerebral saturation was observed in 9 of them. No statistically significant association was found between the application of epidural anaesthesia and development of cerebral desaturation.

C o n c l u s i o n: The application of epidural anaesthesia caused no clinically significant reduction of cerebral saturation during the general anaesthesia in course of major abdominal surgical procedures.