Comparison of recovery after halothane or alfentanil anaesthesia for minor surgery

Abstract

Recovery after anaesthesia was assessed using the Maddox Wing Test (MW), Critical Flicker Fusion Threshol (CFF), Choice Reaction Time (CRT), Line Analogue Rating Scales (LARS), a Tracking Test and a test of Semantic Memory in 44 patients who had undergone minor gynaecological surgery. The patients were allocated randomly to one of two groups and received either methohexitone, alfentanil, nitrous oxide, and oxygen. Immediate recovery was more rapid in the alfentanil group (P<0.01), but apnoea (P< 0.05) and hiccps (P< 0.05) were more common. Except for the CFF test, which showed the alfentanil patients to be less sedated than the halothane patients on the morning after anaesthesia (P< 0.05), the results of the tests were similar in both groups and showed, initially, substantial impairment of psychmotor functions which gradualy returned to baseline values. This comparsion with halothane anaesthesia indicates that a technique using methohexitone and alfentanil is suitable for day-case surgery. © 1987 British Journal of Anaesthesia.