Anesthesiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Women emerge from general anesthesia with propofol/alfentanil/nitrous oxide faster than men.
Recovery from general anesthesia is governed by pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic factors. Gender has not previously been recognized as a factor influencing the time to emergence from general anesthesia. ⋯ Gender appears to be an important variable in recovery from general anesthesia. These findings may explain the increased reported incidence of awareness in women (three times more frequent) and support the need to include gender as a variable in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of anesthetic drugs.