Nocturnal episodic hypoxemia after ambulatory breast cancer surgery: comparison of sevoflurane and propofol-fentanyl anesthesia

To study the incidence and severity of nocturnal episodic hypoxemia after ambulatory breast cancer surgery and its differences with sevoflurane and propofol anesthesia. Sixty-one adult female patients (ASA PS I-II; age, 32-77 years) without an apparent history of sleep apnea and respiratory disease undergoing major breast cancer surgery on an outpatient basis and with planned overnight admission were randomized to one of two anesthesia maintenance groups: sevoflurane anesthesia (SEV, n = 31) or intravenous propofol, fentanyl, and vecuronium anesthesia (TIVA, n = 30). All patients were administered propofol 2 mg x kg(-1) intravenously for anesthesia induction, had a laryngeal mask airway placed, and received rectal diclofenac and local infiltration anesthesia for pain relief. No opioid analgesic or oxygen was administered after discharge from the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Oxygen saturation (Sp(O) (2)) was recorded continuously during the first postoperative night. Sp(O) (2) 10 s was regarded as hypoxemia, and the percentage of effective recording time with Sp(O) (2)