Nitrous oxide added at the end of isoflurane anesthesia hastens early recovery without increasing the risk for postoperative nausea and vomiting : a randomized clinical trial

Background Nitrous oxide (N2O) has been reported to increase the risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in a dose-dependent manner. We investigated the effect of adding N2O at the end of isoflurane inhalational anesthesia on the recovery and incidence of PONV. Our hypothesis was that N2O would reduce the time to early recovery without increasing the incidence of PONV.