Application of Discharge Criteria for Home Readiness Using Bispectral and Supraglottic Airway Devices in Day-care...

The availability of rapid and short-acting intravenous and volatile anesthetics has facilitated early recovery that is why nowadays ambulatory surgery is becoming more common. If the criteria used to discharge patients from the Postanesthesia Care Unit (PACU) are met in the operating room (OR), it would be appropriate to consider bypassing the PACU and transferring the patient directly to the step-down unit. This process is known as "fast-tracking" after ambulatory surgery.

To compare hemodynamic characteristics and recovery profile as per fast-track criteria (FTC) of recovery and postanesthesia discharge scoring system (PADSS) between sevoflurane and desflurane.

One hundred American Society of Anesthesiologists Class I-II patients aged 20-50 years were randomly divided into two groups. Following anesthesia induction with injection propofol and injection dexmedetomidine airway was secured with i-gel, Group D (n = 50) received desflurane + dexmedetomidine + O₂ + N₂O and Group S (n = 50) received sevoflurane in place of desflurane. Emergence time was noted and FTC was evaluated in the OR, Score >12 is considered as shifting criteria for ambulatory surgery unit (ASU). PADSS was noted in ASU at an interval of 15 min for 3 h and Score >9 is considered as ready to discharge home.

Response to pain, verbal commands, and spontaneous eye opening in Group D was shorter than that in Group S (P = 0.001). Mean time to achieve FTC score >12 was 15 min in both the groups. Eighty-six percent of patients were ready to go home between 60 and 90 min using PADSS.

We concluded that early recovery is faster for desflurane, and there is no difference in ready to go home time between desflurane and sevoflurane.