An observational evaluation of the rate of awakening after isoflurane or desflurane used in daily clinical practice.

Study Objective: To evaluate the rate of awakening after desflurane (D) or isoflurane (I) anesthesia when used during daily clinical practice.

Design: Observational prospective study.

Setting: University-affiliated metropolitan hospital.

Patients: 68 ASA physical status I and II patients (18-75 yrs) scheduled for abdominal surgeries.

Interventions: Patients scheduled for abdominal surgery of various duration received either D or I. No time was specified for discontinuation of the inhaled drugs at the end of the surgery. T0 for recovery parameters was stated as the end of the surgery. A p-value < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results are expressed as medians and ranges.

Measurements And Main Results: 68 patients (32 in D group and 36 in I group) were analyzed. Patient demographic data were similar between the two groups. Duration of surgery was 151 minutes (83-428 min) and 174 minutes (40-552 min) for I and D, respectively. Extubation occurred earlier after D (18 min [9-35 min]) as compared to I (32 min [7-77 min]). Time to reach the Aldrete score at 10 was faster after D (30 min [12-45]) as compared to I (46 min [15-110]). Unlike I, the rate of awakening after D was independent of the duration of surgery. The differences between D and I reached statistical significance in surgical procedures lasting more than 100 minutes.

Conclusion: Used during routine conditions, D allows for faster recovery than I in surgical procedures lasting more than 100 minutes. The rate of awakening after D remained independent of the duration of the surgical procedure.