• G Echevarría, F Elgueta, C Fierro, D Bugedo, G Faba, R Iñiguez-Cuadra, H R Muñoz, and L I Cortínez.
• Departamento de Anestesiología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Hospital Clínico U.C., Marcoleta 367, PO Box: 114-D, Santiago, Chile.
• Br J Anaesth. 2011 Dec 1; 107 (6): 959-65.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to test if intraoperative administration of N(2)O during propofol-remifentanil anaesthesia prevented the onset of postoperative opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH).MethodsFifty adult ASA I-II patients undergoing elective open septorhinoplasty under general anaesthesia were studied. Anaesthesia was with propofol, adjusted to bispectral index (40-50), and remifentanil (0.30 μg kg(-1) min(-1)). Patients were assigned to one of the two groups: with N(2)O (70%) and without N(2)O (100% oxygen). Mechanical pain thresholds were measured before surgery and 2 and 12-18 h after surgery. Pain measurements were performed on the arm using hand-held von Frey filaments. A non-parametric analysis of variance was used in the von Frey data analysis. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsBaseline pain thresholds to mechanical stimuli were similar in both groups, with mean values of 69 [95% confidence interval (CI): 50.2, 95.1] g in the group without N(2)O and 71 (95% CI: 45.7, 112.1) g in the group with N(2)O. Postoperative pain scores and cumulative morphine consumption were similar between the groups. The analysis revealed a decrease in the threshold value in both groups. However, post hoc comparisons showed that at 12-18 h after surgery, the decrease in mechanical threshold was greater in the group without N(2)O than the group with N(2)O (post hoc analysis with Bonferroni's correction, P<0.05).ConclusionsIntraoperative 70% N(2)O administration significantly reduced postoperative OIH in patients receiving propofol-remifentanil anaesthesia.

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