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Laughing gas eases anesthesia impact
SAN DIEGO-For surgery in the office, a little nitrous oxide with propofol helps get patients off the table, eating and drinking, and out the door faster.
In a randomized study of 34 superficial-surgery patients by a UT Southwestern-UCLA team, the 17 who had propofol with N2O 60%-70% in oxygen did slightly better on all indices of postop recovery, as measured by a blinded observer, than those with propofol alone. But patients couldn’t tell the difference.
No patient felt nauseated in the office, although one in each group did after taking pain medication at home.
The propofol infusion rate was adjusted to ensure depth of anesthesia, which was measured with an EEG bispectral monitor. Patients weren’t premedicated or given narcotics. On average, the N2O patients had less propofol (307 mg vs. 384 mg), Dr. Jun Tang of UCLA told the American Society of Anesthesiologists meeting here.
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