Group 4 – Sevoflurane-induced myocardial depression (SEVO)

After baseline measurements at NT (n = 5, 38.0 °C), the continuous administration of sevoflurane was elevated from a baseline of 1.0–2.0 to 4 Vol%. Subsequently, the continuous administration of sevoflurane was reduced to baseline values, and animals were cooled to MH (33.0 °C). After new baseline measurements in the same animals at MH, the continuous administration of sevoflurane was elevated from 1.0–2.0 to 3 Vol%. The Vol% of sevoflurane to induce cardiac depression during NT and MH was established in a series of pilot experiments. The sevoflurane dose was titrated aiming at an approximate 50% reduction of LV dP/dt_max. A lower Vol% of sevoflurane was needed to induce the same magnitude of depression of contractile function during MH, probably due to different pharmacokinetics of the anesthetics at lower body temperatures, as previously reported [28–32]. The abovementioned timepoints (baseline at NT, 4 Vol% sevoflurane, baseline at MH and 3 Vol% sevoflurane) were considered for data analysis (Fig. 1c).