A Comparison of Desflurane vs. Sevoflurane and the Time to Awakening and the Incidence and Severity of Cough
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2012-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Goals for ambulatory surgery include providing optimal surgical conditions while ensuring a
rapid early recovery without side effect. Dexter et al1 concluded in a meta-analysis that
Desflurane can reduce the extubation time when compared to Sevoflurane. This potential
benefit of Desflurane can be especially attractive in short ambulatory cases performed with
general anesthesia with a laryngeal mask airway.
Although some studies have not shown a difference on perioperative cough and laryngospasm
between Desflurane and Sevoflurane at clinically relevant doses.It has been reported in the
literature that Desflurane causes cough4 and many providers avoid using Desflurane with a LMA
(laryngeal mask airway) in the ambulatory setting. In this study we will also evaluate, as a
secondary outcome, the presence and severity of perioperative cough and laryngospasm.
Previous investigators have demonstrated a more rapid resumption of normal daily activities
after ambulatory surgery in patients anesthetized with Desflurane when compared with
Sevoflurane.these investigators suggested a better quality of recovery when Desflurane is
used probably due to a lower lipid solubility of Desflurane. We will also evaluate quality of
recovery as a secondary outcome using a validated instrument.
Significance:
1. A more rapid awakening, especially, in a fast and high turnover cases that are performed
with LMA can lead to a more cost effective utilization of operating room time
2. It has been reported that Desflurane causes more cough than Sevoflurane and
Anesthesiologists avoid using Desflurane with LMA cases, this study will reinforce that
there is no difference.