Total intravenous anesthesia using propofol and alfentanil in comparison with balanced anesthesia in neurosurgery

: Anaesthesia for neurosurgical patients should provide haemodynamic stability, reduce cerebral metabolism, preserve cerebral autoregulation, avoid increases of intracranial pressure and guarantee rapid recovery without respiratory depression. A commonly used Balanced Anaesthesia (BA, n = 20) (thiopental and fentanyl bolus induction and maintenance with repetition boluses of fentanyl and droperidol, thiopental infusion, and isoflurane in N2O/O2) was compared to Total Intravenous Anaesthesia (TIVA, n = 20) with propofol and alfentanil infusion. Pancuronium was employed for muscle relaxation in both groups. The TIVA evinced more haemodynamic stability during induction; notably, there was no increase in blood pressure after intubation, as seen in the BA group. Another advantage of TIVA is that it obviates the use of N2O. Quality of recovery after the procedure was determined by standardised psychometric tests. The time span between awakening of patients to orientation and concentration was significantly shorter in the TIVA group compared to the BA group. There was also a smaller deviation of these parameters in the TIVA group indicating a more predictable recovery.