Does the avoidance of nitrous oxide reduce the incidence of complications in patients undergoing major surgery?
Avoiding nitrous oxide during major surgery reduces postoperative complications without affecting hospital length of stay.
Avoidance of nitrous oxide and the concomitant increase in inspired oxygen concentration decreases the incidence of complications after major surgery, but does not significantly affect the duration of hospital stay. The routine use of nitrous oxide in patients undergoing major surgery should be questioned.
Myles et al. (Wed,) studied this question.