Background: Nitrous oxide diffuses easily from blood into air filled spaces
. Xenon is also a relatively insoluble gas, like nitrous oxide. Therefore,
the authors measured xenon diffusion into obstructed bowel segments during
xenon anesthesia and compared this with nitrous oxide and nitrogen diffusio
n.
Methods: Twenty-one pentobarbital-anesthetized pigs were randomly assigned
to three groups to receive either xenon-oxygen, nitrous oxide-oxygen, or ni
trogen-oxygen (75%-25%, respectively. In each animal, four bo Fc el segment
s of 15-cm length were Isolated. A pressure-measuring catheter was inserted
into the lumen, and 30 ml of room air was injected into the segments, Anes
thesia with the selected gas mixture was performed for 4 h, Pressure in the
segments was measured continuously. The volume of gaseous bowel content wa
s measured on completion of the study.
Results: The median volume of bowel gas in animals breathing nitrous oxide
was 88.0 ml as compared with 39.0 ml with xenon anesthesia and 21.5 ml in t
he nitrogen-oxygen group. After 4 h of anesthesia, thr intraluminal pressur
es in the nitrous oxide group were found to be significantly greater than i
n the control group and in the xenon group.
Conclusions: The amount of diffused gas was significantly lower during xeno
n anesthesia than with nitrous oxide anesthesia hut greater than with contr
ols. Blood solubility carl therefore be regarded as an important factor inf
luencing gas diffusion into air filled cavities,