Cardiovascular responses to flumazenil-induced arousal after arterial surgery

Patients who underwent peripheral arterial surgery had anaesthesia maintained with an infusion of midazolam. They were allowed either to recover spontaneously or to have the effects of midazolam reversed by flumazenil at the end of surgery. This study demonstrated that the cardiovascular responses to arousal using flumazenil are no different from those seen when the patient is allowed to recover in the normal way. This result has obvious advantages for clinical practice but the dangers of resedation must not be forgotten.