Anaesthesia for outpatient termination of pregnancy. A comparison of two anaesthetic techniques.

Inhalation anaesthesia with enflurane was compared with i.v. fentanyl for outpatient termination of pregnancy. Blood loss was greater in the enflurane group with a geometric mean loss of 73.0 ml compared with 43.9 ml in the fentanyl group. There was a greater frequency of nausea nd vomiting in the fentanyl group and no reduction in abdominal pain or need for analgesia after operation. A close relationship was found between blood loss and duration of the procedure but not between blood loss and gestational age or gestational age and anaesthetic time. Either technique is satisfactory for outpatient termination of pregnancy in unpremedicated patients. Despite the greater blood losses with enflurane, it is a safe and reliable method of anaesthesia for this procedure, but the concentration and duration of administration should be kept to a minimum.