Comparison between sevoflurane and desflurane on emergence and recovery characteristics of children undergoing surgery for spinal dysraphism

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Rapid recovery is desirable after neurosurgery as it enables early post-operative neurological evaluation and prompt management of complications. Studies have been rare comparing the recovery characteristics in paediatric neurosurgical patients. Hence, this study was carried out to compare the effect of sevoflurane and desflurane anaesthesia on emergence and extubation in children undergoing spinal surgery. METHODS: Sixty children, aged 1–12 years, undergoing elective surgery for lumbo-sacral spinal dysraphism were enrolled. Anaesthesia was induced with sevoflurane using a face mask. The children were then randomised to receive either sevoflurane or desflurane with oxygen and nitrous oxide, fentanyl (1 μg/kg/h) and rocuronium. The anaesthetic depth was guided by bispectral index (BIS(®)) monitoring with a target BIS(®) between 45 and 55. Perioperative data with regard to demographic profile, haemodynamics, emergence and extubation times, modified Aldrete score (MAS), pain (objective pain score), agitation (Cole's agitation score), time to first analgesic and complications, thereof, were recorded. Statistical analysis was done using STATA 11.2 (StataCorp., College Station, TX, USA) and data are presented as median (range) or mean ± standard deviation. RESULTS: The demographic profile, haemodynamics, MAS, pain and agitation scores and time to first analgesic were comparable in between the two groups (P > 0.05). The emergence time was shorter in desflurane group (2.75 [0.85–12] min) as compared to sevoflurane (8 [2.5–14] min) (P < 0.0001). The extubation time was also shorter in desflurane group (3 [0.8–10] min) as compared to the sevoflurane group (5.5 [1.2–14] min) (P = 0.0003). CONCLUSION: Desflurane provided earlier tracheal extubation and emergence as compared to sevoflurane in children undergoing surgery for lumbo-sacral spinal dysraphism.