Respiration during emergence from anaesthesia with desflurane/N2O vs. desflurane/air for gynaecological laparoscopy.

BACKGROUND: The complications related to anaesthesia usually occur in the early postoperative period. Hypercapnia and hypoxaemia may result from any persistent depression of the respiratory drive relative to the metabolic demand. The purpose of this study was to compare the respiratory effects of desflurane anaesthesia with or without nitrous oxide during the period of emergence. METHODS: Twenty patients scheduled for a standardised surgical procedure, laparoscopic hysterectomy, were randomly allocated to anaesthesia with 1.3 MAC of desflurane/N2O (Group 1) or desflurane alone (Group 2), with 10 patients in each group. Times of resumption of spontaneous breathing and extubation were recorded and elimination rates of carbon dioxide, end-tidal concentrations of desflurane and N2O, and blood gases were measured. RESULTS: Spontaneous breathing was resumed in both groups when pH had decreased by about 0.07 and PaCO2 increased by about 1.4 kPa compared with the values at the end of 1.3 MAC anaesthesia with controlled normoventilation. There were no significant differences between the groups with regards to extubation time, 6 vs. 13 min, or total MAC value at extubation, 0.20 vs. 0.19 in Group 1 and 2, respectively. Neither did the groups differ in minute ventilation, end-tidal carbon dioxide, oxygen concentrations, or blood gases. CO2 elimination decreased in both groups from about 220 ml 70 kg-1 min-1 at the end of anaesthesia to a lowest value of about 160 ml 70 kg-1 min-1. CONCLUSION: The respiratory profiles during recovery from gynaecological laparoscopy with either desflurane/N2O or desflurane anaesthesia were similar with fast resumption of spontaneous breathing, short time to extubation, and no signs of CO2 retention.

Continuous non-invasive monitoring of energy expenditure, oxygen consumption and alveolar ventilation during controlled ventilation: validation in an oxygen consuming lung model.

BACKGROUND: We have developed a combined indirect calorimetric and breath-by-breath capnographic device (GEM) for respiratory monitoring: oxygen consumption (VO2), carbon dioxide excretion (VCO2), respiratory quotient (RQ), energy expenditure (EE), alveolar ventilation (VA) and dead space/total ventilation (VD/VT). METHODS: The device was tested in a lung model in which VO2 was achieved by combustion of hydrogen. VCO2 was achieved by delivering CO2 into the single alveolus combustion chamber. VO2, VCO2, compliance, and anatomical dead space could be varied independently. RESULTS: Measured VO2 was 101 +/- 3% (SD) of set value at a F1O2 < 0.6 and 101 +/- 7% at a F1O2 > 0.6 during 15 hours of testing. The corresponding VCO2 values were 99 +/- 2% and 102 +/- 7%. The GEM could with good accuracy measure accumulated energy expenditure (EE) during simulated unstable patient conditions up to a F1O2 of 0.8. At F1O2 above 0.8 VCO2 and VO2 could be estimated using a default RQ value of 0.85. On-line estimated VA and VD/VT values could be obtained at any F1O2 up to 1.0. In a test sequence with stable VO2 and VCO2 the GEM adequately followed changes in VA, induced by changes in anatomical dead space, breathing frequency and compliance. CONCLUSION: The overall performance of the device is satisfactory and well comparable with any equipment tested. It allows near-continuous non-invasive monitoring of EE, VO2, VCO2, VA, VD/VT in ventilated, critically ill patients, providing a rationale for ventilator settings and nutritional support.