The effect of sevoflurane on implicit memory: a double-blind, randomised study

✍ Scribed by M. Renna; E. M. Lang; G. G. Lockwood

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 102 KB
• Volume: 55
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0003-2409
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2044.2000.01326.x

✦ Synopsis

Forty‐eight gynaecological patients were randomly allocated to three groups (target end‐tidal sevoflurane concentration 1.2, 1.5 or 2%), and into subgroups for positive or neutral suggestion. Anaesthesia was induced by inhalation of sevoflurane in oxygen. When the target concentration was achieved, the bispectral index, computed from a bi‐frontal electroencephalogram, was noted. One of two eight‐word lists was then played to prime implicit memory, followed by a positive or neutral suggestion. After surgery, each patient tried to identify 24 words obscured by background noise. Priming increased the likelihood of identifying words in the 1.2% group only, i.e. there was evidence of implicit memory in this group. There was no evidence of a therapeutic effect of positive suggestion (p = 0.3), but the power of this part of the study was low. The bispectral index did not achieve statistical significance as an indicator of susceptibility to priming.