Comparing Recovery from Desflurane and Sevoflurane in Patients with Different Body Fat Percentages: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction Increased body fat may influence the partition coefficients of inhaled anesthetics. We compared patient responses to desflurane and sevoflurane anesthesia, as measured by a quicker recovery and fewer complications, in patients with higher body fat percentages, not only obese people. Methods This study included 120 patients. Participants were stratified into low or high body fat percentages groups using bioelectrical impedance analysis and were randomized 1:1 to receive desflurane or sevoflurane as an inhaled anesthetic, recorded as Low-Desflurane, Low-Sevoflurane, High-Desflurane, and High-Sevoflurane. Recovery time, Riker sedation-agitation scale scores, and complications were recorded over 1 hour in the post-anesthesia care unit. Results A total of 106 patients were analyzed. There were no significant differences in the overall recovery time between the patient subgroups with higher and lower body fat percentages; in addition, there were no significant differences in the incidence of nausea, vomiting,dizziness, or headache (all p>0.05). However, the incidence of agitation emergence in the HighSevoflurane subgroup was significantly higher compared to the High-Desflurane subgroup (33.3% vs.7.41%; p = 0.043). Conclusion In conclusion, for patients with a lower body fat percentage, both desflurane and sevoflurane can provide good and fast recovery; for patients with a higher body fat percentage,desflurane may provide better recovery with a lower incidence of agitation emergence compared to sevoflurane..