Up to date in inhalation anaesthesia: desflurane

Background Inhaled volatile anaesthetics remain the most widely used drugs for maintenance of general anaesthesia because of their ease of administration and predictable intraoperative and recovery characteristics. The result has been an increasing reliance on fluorinated anesthetics. The most recently introduced anesthetics, desflurane and sevoflurane, are ethers halogenated solely with fluorine. There is controversy regarding the relative perioperative benefits of desflurane versus sevoflurane when used for maintenance of anesthesia in the ambulatory setting. Although studies have consistently demonstrated a faster emergence with desflurane (versus sevoflurane), the impact of this difference on the later recovery end points has not been definitively established.