Nitrous oxide and epinephrine-induced arrhythmias

We asked whether the sympathomimetic effect of nitrous oxide (N2O) predisposed patients receiving N2O to arrhythmias in response to epinephrine administration. We also asked whether aging contributed to the development of arrhythmias, with or without N2O. One hundred patients having transsphenoidal hypophysectomy were randomly assigned to receive anesthesia including (n = 49) or excluding (n = 51) N2O. All patients were given an injection of epinephrine 1:200,000, with 0.5% lidocaine to produce hemostasis. Using intermittent 12-lead and continuous lead II electrocardiography, we determined the incidence of premature ventricular contraction, isorhythmic atrioventricular (AV) dissociation, and changes in T-wave morphology. Patients given N2O had a significantly higher incidence of isorhythmic AV dissociation (61.2% vs 41.2%). A trend toward a higher incidence of multiple premature ventricular contractions (16.3% vs 7.8%) was not statistically significant. Both anesthetic groups had a high incidence of postoperative changes in T-wave morphology (46.9% in the N2O group vs 50.9% in the group not given N2O). Aging alone did not affect the incidence of ventricular ectopic beats, isorhythmic AV dissociation, or changes in electrocardiographic morphology, but correlated with the development of ventricular ectopy during N2O anesthesia. We conclude that the use of N2O correlated with a higher incidence of isorhythmic AV dissociation in response to injection of epinephrine with lidocaine.