Day-Surgery Patients Anesthetized with Propofol Have Less Postoperative Pain than Those Anesthetized with Sevoflurane

There have been recent studies suggesting that patients anesthetized with propofol have less postoperative pain compared with patients anesthetized with volatile anesthetics. In this randomized, double-blind study, 80 patients undergoing day-case diagnostic laparoscopic gynecological surgery were either anesthetized with IV propofol or sevoflurane. The primary outcome measured was pain on a visual analog scale. Patients anesthetized with propofol had less pain compared with patients anesthetized with sevoflurane (P = 0.01). There was no difference in any of the other measured clinical outcomes. The patients anesthetized with propofol appeared to have less pain than patients anesthetized with sevoflurane.