Comparison of recovery in pediatric patients: a retrospective study

Objective: The recovery after general anesthesia is influenced by the choice of inhalational agent. Stimulations might make patient’s agitate. However, the recovery using no touch technique might be safer. In this study, we compared the recovery time, awakening end-tidal concentration, and respiratory complications among inhalational anesthetics in pediatric patients using no touch technique, retrospectively. Material and methods: The subjects were pediatric patients aged 3 months to 11 years under general anesthesia using sevoflurane, isoflurane, or desflurane. Background, awakening end-tidal concentration, respiratory complications, the time of eye open, body movement, and extubation were recorded. Results: A total of 170 patients were included in the study. There were no respiratory complications during emergence. Awakening end-tidal concentration in desflurane was 0.98%, sevoflurane (0.39%), and isoflurane (0.25%). In patients received desflurane, the time of body movement, eye open, and extubation were significantly shorter than patients who received other anesthetics (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The recovery from desflurane was significantly shorter among three inhalational anesthetics with no touch technique. In addition, no airway-related complication occurred. Clinical relevance: The recovery from desflurane might be useful to predict emergence by end-tidal inhalational concentration.