The clinical use of desflurane

Yale J Biol Med. 1993 Sep-Oct;66(5):491-500.

Abstract

Desflurane, a newly introduced potent, inhaled anesthetic, differs from its predecessors in having a lower solubility in blood and tissues. The lower solubility imparts a greater control to the maintenance of anesthesia and a more rapid elimination and recovery from anesthesia. In other respects, the pharmacological properties of desflurane resemble those of its sister anesthetic, isoflurane, currently the most widely-used potent anesthetic in this and other countries. The qualitative exceptions to this resemblence are that desflurane is more pungent and produces a greater increase in heart rate, particularly at deeper levels of anesthesia.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Anesthesia, Inhalation
  • Anesthetics / pharmacokinetics
  • Anesthetics / standards*
  • Desflurane
  • Humans
  • Isoflurane / analogs & derivatives*
  • Isoflurane / pharmacokinetics
  • Isoflurane / standards

Substances

  • Anesthetics
  • Desflurane
  • Isoflurane