ANESTHESIA FOR SHORT OUTPATIENT PROCEDURES - A COMPARISON BETWEEN THIOPENTONE AND PROPOFOL IN COMBINATION WITH FENTANYL OR ALFENTANIL

We studied supplementation of propofol or thiopentone anaesthesia with 0.5 or 1.0 mg alfentanil or 0.05 or 0.1 mg fentanyl for minor gynaeco logical outpatient procedures. Four hundred patients scheduled for ele ctive termination of pregnancy were randomly allocated to one of eight groups. Induction agent doses, peroperative complications, complaints about pain and emesis during the postoperative period, and time to di scharge were studied. Propofol compared to thiopentone was associated with a shorter time to discharge, 103+/-28 and 115+/-33 minutes respec tively (P<0.05) and anxiety during recovery was more frequent in the t hiopentone group (P<0.05). The need for postoperative reserve analgesi cs was less in the alfentanil group (P<0.05). We found, however, no ma jor differences between the supplementations tested regarding the tota l dose of induction agent, emesis or time to discharge. Supplementatio n with 1.0 mg of alfentanil to propofol was found to be the best combi nation tested for short outpatient procedures.