FASTER RECOVERY AFTER ANESTHESIA IN INFANTS AFTER INTRAVENOUS INDUCTION WITH METHOHEXITAL INSTEAD OF THIOPENTAL

Background: To determine possible delays in recovery after intravenous anesthesia induction with thiopental, the drug was compared with meth ohexital in infants 1-12 months of age who were scheduled for hernia r epair or circumcision. Methods: The infants were given equipotent dose s of methohexital(3.0 mg/kg, n = 21) or thiopental (7.3 mg(kg, n = 20) , in random and blind fashion. After tracheal intubation, anesthesia w as maintained with isoflurane in nitrous oxide/oxygen. All children re ceived 0.75 ml/kg caudal bupivacaine (2.5 mg/ml). Isoflurane was disco ntinued at the beginning of skin closure, and nitrous oxide was termin ated immediately after the last suture (end of surgery). Results: Ther e were no differences between the two groups with respect to age, weig ht, or duration of surgery, which lasted 19 min (14-23 min) in the met hohexital group and 16 min (15-19 min) in the thiopental group (median and inner quartile range). Time from termination of nitrous oxide to extubation did not differ significantly between the groups. Time to sp ontaneous eye opening after end of surgery was 23 min (5-44 min) after methohexital induction and 55 min (25-74 min) after thiopental induct ion (P < 0.05). Recovery, assessed as postanesthetic recovery scores b y a blinded observer, was significantly more rapid in the methohexital group at arrival in the recovery room and 5, 15, and 45 min after arr ival. After 120 min, almost all infants of both groups were awake. Con clusions: Recovery after short surgical procedures in infants is faste r after intravenous induction with methohexital than with thiopental.