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Recovery after two methods of light general anaesthesia for gynaecological laparoscopy was studied. For this purpose, 30 patients were divided into two equal groups (A and B). The patients in group A were anaesthetized with thiopentone, fentanyl and suxamethonium infusion, while the patients in group B received inhalation anaesthesia with enflurane and suxamethonium infusion. Both groups were normoventilated with nitrous-oxide and oxygen mixture. A battery of recovery tests was applied in the recovery room. The patients who received inhalation anaesthesia with enflurane scored better in the recovery tests, and reached preoperative values after 3 h in the recovery room. Inhalation anaesthesia with enflurane was accepted well by the patients and provided good working conditions for the surgeons. It is suitable for outpatient gynaecological laparoscopy because it ensures rapid recovery.

The duration of effects of vecuronium has previously been studied in paediatric patients only during inhalation anaesthesia. We therefore studied the age-related differences in duration of action after administration of 0.1 mg kg-1 of vecuronium in 66% N2O in O2, fentanyl anaesthesia without inhalation agents. Forty-nine children (2 wk-14 yr, ASA 1-2) were selected for study and divided into four groups according to age. Evoked EMG monitor (Relaxograph, Datex, Finland) was calibrated with hypothenar muscle recording. The completely restored first twitch (T1) level was used as reference for recovery calculations. In infants (age less than 1 yr) the onset time (68 s) was only 0.6-0.8 times that of older patients (P less than 0.01). In infants the duration of surgical relaxation to T1 10% (42 min) and the recovery index (21 min) were 1.7-2.9 times longer than in older patients (P less than 0.01). It took 55 min from the beginning of recovery to full restoration of T1 in infants, compared with 20-24 min in 3-15-year-old children. Interestingly, the younger the child, the more rapidly train-of-four ratio recovered compared with T1 (P less than 0.01). Because of the age-dependent prolongation of vecuronium relaxation and spontaneous recovery in small children, the level of relaxation should be monitored also in clinical practice.