THE EFFECTS OF SEVOFLURANE AND ISOFLURANE ON RECOVERY FROM OUTPATIENTSURGERY

This randomized, open-label study compared the investigational inhalat ional anesthetic sevoflurane with isoflurane in 47 healthy women under going elective ambulatory surgery. The women were randomized to receiv e either sevoflurane or isoflurane in 60% nitrous oxide-oxygen. Induct ion with thiopental 3-6 mg/kg was followed by vecuronium 0.1 mg/kg and fentanyl 0-200 mu g. Duration of anesthesia, time to emergence, orien tation, length of stay in the surgical unit, and hospital discharge we re recorded. The emergence, length of stay, and discharge times after discontinuation of sevoflurane were 9.7 +/- 0.7, 120.6 +/- 8.0, and 24 4 +/- 15 minutes, respectively and for isoflurane were 11.9 +/- 1.4, 1 06.8 +/- 7.1, and 282 +/- 24 minutes, respectively (NS). The isofluran e group had a higher frequency of postoperative cough. At the end of s urgery, the sevoflurane group received a deeper revel of anesthesia (m inimum alveolar concentration 1.5 vs 1.3), however, these patients wer e oriented earlier (13.6 +/- 1.1 min vs 17.0 +/- 1.5 min isoflurane; p = 0.02) after discontinuation of anesthesia, although this difference is of little clinical significance.