Cognitive recovery assessment in patients after desflurane versus sevoflurane-based general anaesthesia: A...

Recovery after general anaesthesia (GA) may vary depending on personal factors and the type of anaesthetic agent used. The primary objective of this study was to compare the recovery profiles of cognitive functions following desflurane- and sevoflurane-based GA in terms of the time required for cognitive functions to return to their baseline values.

This randomised comparative trial was conducted in 60 patients aged 18-50 years, scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy under GA. The total cognitive score (TCS) recorded before surgery was considered the baseline. Patients were randomly allocated into Group D (n = 30) and Group S (n = 30). Anaesthesia was maintained with a mixture of oxygen, air, and desflurane or sevoflurane in groups D and S, respectively, with a 1.1 minimum alveolar concentration, adjusted to sustain a bispectral index of 50-60. Postoperatively, all patients were transferred to the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU), and cognitive function was reevaluated at 30, 90, and 150 minutes. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test, the Friedman test, and the generalised estimating equations method were used to compare TCS at each time-point between groups, TCS over time within each group, and the variation in TCS changes between the two groups over time, respectively.

Following GA, the TCS reverted to its baseline value in both groups at 150 minutes (P = 0.056).

Both desflurane and sevoflurane are comparable for cognitive recovery and duration of the PACU stay following GA.