Safety of Nitrous Oxide Anesthesia in a Selected Group of Patients Undergoing Neurosurgery: An Exploratory Subgroup Analysis of the ENIGMA Trials

In this study, we performed an exploratory pooled analysis of both ENIGMA trials to assess the safety of nitrous oxide in a selected group of patients undergoing neurosurgery. Methods: Data from each ENIGMA trial were collated into a single database. Information regarding patient demographics, comorbidities, medication use, anesthesia, surgical procedure, and postoperative complications was extracted. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted for postoperative complications to assess the risk associated with nitrous oxide. Results: A total of 830 patients were included in our analysis: 417 received nitrous oxide anesthesia, and 413 received nitrous oxide-free anesthesia. Baseline patient and perioperative characteristics were comparable. Procedural data were available for 535 patients (64%); of these, 507 (95%) underwent spinal neurosurgery and 28 (5%) underwent cranial neurosurgery. Patients in the nitrous oxide group had lower inspired oxygen concentration (30% vs. 38%; P
Source: Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Clinical Investigations Source Type: research