Anesthesiology
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Pulmonary and renal excretion of isoflurane and its metabolites was studied in nine surgical patients following administration of known quantitities of isoflurane. Uptake and pulmonary washout were predictable by a mathematical model for inert vapors. ⋯ The postoperative increase of urinary excretion of fluoride and organic fluorine accounted for less than 0.2 per cent of fluorine administered as isoflurane. This small extent of biotransformation is probably biologically insignificant, but only after extensive clinical experience can the hazard of delayed toxic response be conclusively evaluated.