Effects of subanaesthetic sevoflurane on ventilation. 2: Response to acute and sustained hypoxia in humans

Abstract

We have determined the influence of 0.1 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of sevoflurane on the acute ventilatory response to hypoxia (AHVR), hypoxic ventilatory decline (HVD) and the magnitude of the rapid decline in ventilation on relief of sustained hypoxia (the off-response) in eight healthy adult volunteers. The following design was used with and without 0.1 MAC of sevoflurane: end-tidal PO2 was maintained at 13.3 kPa for 5 min, at 7.9 kPa for 20 min and at 13.3 kPa for 5 min. End-tidal PCO2 was held constant throughout at 1.3 kPa above the subject's normal value. A dynamic end-tidal forcing system was used to generate these gas changes. Sevoflurane reduced AHVR from 14.5 (SEM 1.2) to 11.6 (1.6) litre min-1, and the off-response at cessation of hypoxia from 7.1 (1.1) to 6.3 (1.4) litre min-1. The magnitude of HVD was slightly increased by sevoflurane from 8.2 (1.1) to 10.6 (2.8) litre min-1. None of these changes was significant (ANOVA). These results suggest that 0.1 MAC of sevoflurane had very little effect on the AHVR, and that it did not markedly alter the processes underlying HVD during sustained hypoxia.