Pathologic changes following chronic exposures to halothane: a review.

Abstract

The toxic effects of halothane on the liver, kidney, and brain are reviewed. Increasing evidence has indicated that hepatic degeneration can be induced in several animal species after exposure to halothane. Recent electron microscopic investigations have also revealed cytological degeneration of the liver cells after chronic exposure to subclinical levels of halothane. Degeneration of the kidney and the nervous system after halothane exposure have also been reported. The pathological effects of halothane on the neonatal (developing) liver, kidney, and brain are also demonstrated by electron nicroscopy. Although the full significance of these observations on experimental animals in relationship to human exposure is still not known, the indication of the toxic potential of halothane on the biological system is strong and deserves further investigation.

Introduction: Review of microscopic studies on the fetal and neonatal kidney

“…By day 45, a crescentic nephritis had developed. Chang (1977) reviewed the pathological changes following exposure to halothane. Rat neonatal kidneys exposed prenatally to halothane showed changes in mitochondria, increase in lysosomes, and increase in lipid droplets in the proximal convoluted tubule.…”