Abstract
We compared early recovery times with desflurane (DES) anesthesia and sevoflurane (SEV) anesthesia using continuous infusion of remifentanil (CIR). Eighty patients (ASA I-II) who underwent otorhinological surgery were randomly allocated to either DES (n = 40) or SEV group (n = 40). Anesthesia was induced with propofol, remifentanil, and rocuronium. Tracheal intubation was performed and anesthesia was maintained with remifentanil and 0.6 MAC DES or SEV. Toward the end of surgery, CIR rate was fixed at 0.02 µg/kg/min. After a 20-min equilibration period, DES or SEV was discontinued, and the patient’s name was called out loudly every 20 s. Upon eye opening, the patient was considered awake and time after DES or SEV discontinuation was defined as T1. If the patient was able to obey commands, the tracheal tube was then extubated ; this time was defined as T2. T1 values of DES and SEV were 266 ± 105 s and 346 ± 157 s, respectively, while T2 values were 331 ± 108 s and 411 ± 154 s, respectively. T1 and T2 were significantly shorter in the DES group than in the SEV group (p < 0.01). The difference between T1 and T2 were 65.3 ± 28.9 s in the DES group and 65.4 ± 22.6 s, in the SEV group. There was no significance between them. Even during CIR, DES anesthesia was associated with quicker recovery time than SEV anesthesia.
