Recovery after anaesthesia for pulmonary surgery: desflurane, sevoflurane and isoflurane

We have studied maintenance and recovery profiles after general anaesthesia with sevoflurane, desflurane and isoflurane in 100 patients undergoing pul monary surgery. End-tidal concentrations of anaesthetic required to maintai n mean arterial pressure and heart rate within 20% of baseline values were 1.4+/-0.6% for sevoflurane, 3.4+/-0.9% for desflurane and 0.7+/-0.3% for is oflurane. The three anaesthetics had comparable haemodynamic effects and ar terial oxygenation during one-lung ventilation. Emergence was twice as fast with desflurane than with sevoflurane or isoflurane (mean times to extubat ion: 8.9 (SD 5.0) min, 18.0 (17.0) min and 16.2 (11.0) min for desflurane, sevoflurane and isoflurane, respectively). Early recovery (Aldrete score, c ognitive and psychomotor functions) was also more rapid after desflurane. I n pulmonary surgery, desflurane, but not sevoflurane, allowed more rapid em ergence and earlier recovery than isoflurane.