Elsevier

Journal of Clinical Anesthesia

Volume 35, December 2016, Pages 369-375
Journal of Clinical Anesthesia

Original Contribution
Quality of recovery from anesthesia of patients undergoing balanced or total intravenous general anesthesia. Prospective randomized clinical trial,☆☆,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinane.2016.08.022Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Both intravenous and inhalation anesthesia exhibit specific individual advantages.

  • We assessed the quality of recovery (QoR-40) from both techniques.

  • Recovery from remifentanil/sevoflurane or remifentanil/propofol was compared.

  • The lack of difference was demonstrated on the total QoR-40 score.

Abstract

Study objectives

The aim of the present study was to assess the quality of recovery from anesthesia of patients subjected to otorhinolaryngological (ORL) surgery under balanced or total intravenous general anesthesia by means of Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) questionnaire.

Design

Prospective randomized clinical trial.

Setting

The setting is at an operating room, a postoperative recovery area, and a hospital ward.

Patients

One-hundred thirty American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II patients scheduled to undergo general anesthesia for ORL interventions under remifentanil, in combination with sevoflurane (balanced technique) or propofol (total intravenous anesthesia).

Measurements

Occurrence of nausea, vomiting, body temperature less than 36°C, and length of stay in the postanesthesia care unit were recorded. The QoR-40 was administered by an investigator blind to group allocation 24 hours after surgery. The quality of recovery, as assessed by the score on the QoR-40, was compared between the groups.

Main results

There is no difference regarding the QoR-40 score among intravenous and inhalation anesthesia groups (190.5 vs 189.5, respectively; P = .33). Similarly, among the 5 dimensions of the QoR-40, the scores were comparable between the groups. Incidence of hypothermia (P = .58), nauseas or vomits (P = .39), and length of surgery (P = .16) were similar among groups. The evaluation of pain intensity (P = .80) and dose of morphine use in the postanesthesia care unit (P = .4) was also comparable between groups.

Conclusions

The quality of recovery from anesthesia assessed based on the patients' perception did not differ between the ones subjected to either inhalation or intravenous general anesthesia for ORL surgery based on QoR-40 questionnaire assessment.

Introduction

General anesthesia can be performed with intravenous and/or inhalation anesthetics. The most common agents used in everyday practice for such purposes are sevoflurane (inhalation anesthesia) and propofol (intravenous anesthesia). Although a large number of studies have been conducted to establish which technique is best, both exhibit specific advantages as a function of the assessed outcomes: nausea, vomiting, pain, cost, speed of recovery of cognitive functions, cardioprotection, and patient satisfaction [1]. Concerning patient satisfaction, an increasing number of authors have been assessing the quality of recovery from anesthesia by measures that probes quality of life from the perspective of the patient [1], [2], [3]. Quality of Recovery-40 (QoR-40) questionnaire, a validated instrument to assess the quality of recovery from anesthesia, allows for an objective evaluation of the factors that might influence the patients' perception upon comparing different therapeutic approaches [2]. A recent study using the QoR-40 questionnaire showed that the quality of recovery for female patients who underwent thyroid surgery was significantly better when intravenous anesthesia was used when compared with inhalation anesthesia with desflurane [4]. However, no study has yet used the QoR-40 to assess the quality of recovery of patients from both sexes undergoing intravenous anesthesia with propofol and remifentanil vs balanced anesthesia with sevoflurane and remifentanil.

Accordingly, the primary objective of the study was to assess the quality of recovery from anesthesia of patients undergoing otorhinolaryngological (ORL) surgical procedures under balanced or total intravenous general anesthesia through the application of the QoR-40 questionnaire. As secondary outcomes, we also assessed the rates of postoperative nausea, vomiting, and pain for each anesthetic technique.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

This double-blind, randomized trial was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the School of Medical and Health Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo), CAAE 17618013.3.0000.5373 (http://aplicacao.saude.gov.br/plataformabrasil). Written consent form was obtained from all participants. One-hundred thirty patients aged 18 to 65 years, with an American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II [5], who were scheduled to

Results

A total of 130 patients were first assessed for eligibility in this study; however, 10 were excluded because they refused participation, or met any of the exclusion criteria. Thus, 120 participants were randomly allocated to the study groups. Later, 4 participants in group I and 6 in group V were excluded due to protocol deviations. Therefore, 56 participants underwent balanced anesthesia, and 54 underwent intravenous anesthesia (Fig. 1).

The 2 studied groups were comparable with respect to age (

Discussion

This study compared the quality of recovery from 2 anesthetic techniques as assessed from the patients' perspective through the application of a specific validated questionnaire. The patient's perceived quality of recovery was similar in those receiving total intravenous vs those receiving balanced anesthesia when evaluated 24 hours after ORL surgery.

The search for techniques that achieve fast and smooth awakenings from general anesthesia resulted in increased use of remifentanil, an opioid

Acknowledgments

Gustavo Farinha Pinto Saraiva and Nathália Vianna de Matos Leite were granted a scholarship from PIBIC/CNPq.

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Funding: None.

☆☆

Attestation: ETM and LHCN attest to the integrity of the original data and the analysis reported in this manuscript. FCOL, BRN, FPS, and NVdML approved the final manuscript.

Conflicts of interest: All authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

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