title: Clinical experience with desflurane for paediatric anaesthesia outside the operating room.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Desflurane has been used in paediatric patients for several surgical indications. This article analyses the efficacy and safety of desflurane for diagnostic-therapeutic procedures in remote areas far from operating room in a group of selected patients with no known associated respiratory disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis was performed on 2,072 general anaesthesia procedures stored in a computer database, in which desflurane was used in a Paediatric Pain Unit during the years 2013 and 2014. An analysis was also performed using the patient demographics, type of procedure, anaesthetic technique, type of airway management, patient cooperation, and incidence of anaesthetic complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 876 patients, with a mean age of 8.8 years. The main procedures were bone marrow aspirates (23%), lumbar punctures (20%), panendoscopies (15%), and colonoscopies (5%). Induction was intravenous with propofol (26%) or inhalation with sevoflurane in the remaining 74%. Maintenance consisted of remifentanil and desflurane at mean end tidal concentrations of 6.2±2.1%. The airway was managed through a nasal cannula or face mask in spontaneous ventilation. The effectiveness was 98%, and the incidence of side effects was 15%, which included agitation (6%), headache (4%), nausea-vomiting (3%), and laryngospasm (2%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The maintenance with desflurane (at concentrations close to the hypnotic-MAC in spontaneous ventilation) was effective, with a rapid recovery, and with a low incidence of adverse effects.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Anestesiología, Reanimación, Tratamiento del Dolor Infantil, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, España. Electronic address: maprieto@salud.madrid.org.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Anestesiología, Reanimación, Tratamiento del Dolor Infantil, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Builes
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Anestesiología, Reanimación, Tratamiento del Dolor Infantil, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morán
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Anestesiología, Reanimación, Tratamiento del Dolor Infantil, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Anestesiología, Reanimación, Tratamiento del Dolor Infantil, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Anestesiología, Reanimación, Tratamiento del Dolor Infantil, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Reinoso-Barbero
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D058109:Airway Management; D000769:Anesthesia, Inhalation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000077335:Desflurane; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007530:Isoflurane / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D007826:Laryngismus / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D018710:Pain Clinics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000073818:Procedural Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000209:etiology; D011677:Punctures / Q000009:adverse effects; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D000077335:Desflurane; D007530:Isoflurane
keywords: Anaesthesia outside the operating room; Anestesia fuera de quirófano; Anestesia inhalatoria; Anestesia pediátrica; Desflurane; Desflurano; Inhalation anaesthesia; Paediatric anaesthesia