Comparison of three anesthetic techniques on emetic symptoms using sufentanil for outpatient surgery.

With the increase in surgery done in an ambulatory surgical setting, anesthetic techniques must be evolved whereby patients awaken quickly with minimal side effects and are released home with no fear of recurring anesthetic problems. An experimental study using sufentanil in three combinations of anesthetic agents in a balanced anesthetic technique is presented. Patients (N = 60) scheduled to undergo surgery in an ambulatory surgical setting were induced with sufentanil, thiobarbiturates and atracurium. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups for anesthetic maintenance: Group I (N = 18) -67% N20 and 33 % 02; Group 1 (N=21)-67% N20, 33% 02 and droperidol 0.015 mg/kg; Group III (N=21)0.7% isoflurane and 100% 02. Advantages and disadvantages experienced with each group are discussed with special emphasis on time to awakening, time to orientation and incidence of emetic symptoms.