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news: the age - 09-08-2007 - "Safety of laughing gas no joke"

onetwothreefour

onetwothreefour

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Safety of laughing gas no joke

August 9, 2007 - 3:04AM

The safety of the common anaesthetic known as laughing gas is under a cloud after a new study linked it to higher rates of pneumonia, wound infections and possibly even heart attacks.

The Australian-led research team found patients kept unconscious during surgery with anaesthetics other than nitrous oxide suffered fewer life-threatening complications.

Yet nitrous oxide remained "near routine" in surgeries, despite accumulating evidence of its dangerous side-effects, the researchers warn.

The trial, one of the world's largest anaesthesiology studies ever conducted, involved 2,000 patients undergoing major surgery in 13 hospitals in Australia along with six others in the UK, Asia and the Middle East.

Patients who received nitrous oxide as part of their anaesthetic were about one third more likely to suffer a wound infection than patients who did not receive the gas, the researchers found.

They were twice as likely to suffer pneumonia, nausea and vomiting and about 25 per cent more likely to have a fever.

Overall, 210 patients, or 21 per cent of those given nitrous oxide, suffered a major complication compared to 155, or 16 per cent, of those who were not given the gas.

"The evidence is sufficiently compelling to convince me to change my practice," Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists quality and safety committee chair Alan Merry told New Scientist magazine.

"I would think very carefully before using nitrous oxide in patients (undergoing major surgery)."

The study also found patients who received nitrous oxide had double the rate of heart attacks and three times the death rate, although the trial was too small to say whether the figures were meaningful.

A follow-up trial in 7,000 patients at risk of coronary artery disease will test if the risk of such serious post-operative complications were truly higher.

But anaesthetists believe the gas remains safe where exposure is minimal, such as for patients undergoing very minor surgery and women in labour.

Research leader Paul Myles of Melbourne's The Alfred Hospital said the side effects probably occur because the gas interferes with vitamin B12, folic acid and DNA synthesis, which are important for the immune system and wound healing.

It could also occur because administering the weak gas at its standard 70 per cent concentration limited the amount of beneficial oxygen that could be given to the patient.

"Regardless of whether the risk reduction is a result of nitrous oxide toxicity or direct benefits of supplemental oxygen, anesthesiologists should question the inclusion of nitrous oxide as part of their anesthetic regimen," Professor Myles said.

The results have been published in the latest issue of the journal Anesthesiology.
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hmm...

[EDIT: Link hoptis]
 
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I feel sad does this mean a potential operation I may have in the future will be Nitrous Oxide-less ??? :'(



:p
 
You don't get a chance to trip from it anyway, what ever that shit is they inject into your arm it sure knocks you out fast...
 
More likely to suffer from heart attacks? Why because of a higher heart rate?

I won't believe any of this shit unless they show the real study results, not some butchered study hacked into the form of a tabloid news article.
 
I believe it :-/ My bf had pneumonia last week after having a lot of nitrous while sick with the flu, I think nitrous is bad bad bad news.
 
Chubba75 said:
there's really no need to use nitrous oxide outside of dentistry practice.
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Funny you should mention this, because the dentist I saw the other day 'informed' me that no dentists use nitrous anymore; they all now use Methoxyflurane (that green whistle you see in ambos).

I'm pretty sure he is full of shit, because I had nitrous about 3 weeks earlier with someone else in the practice. I think he only said it because he could charge more.
 
Funny you should mention this, because the dentist I saw the other day 'informed' me that no dentists use nitrous anymore; they all now use Methoxyflurane (that green whistle you see in ambos).

I'm pretty sure he is full of shit, because I had nitrous about 3 weeks earlier with someone else in the practice. I think he only said it because he could charge more.
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For real? They still use nitrous oxide at my dentist... a lot of practices have elaborate wall setups, might take some time to phase out.

When I broke my collar bone... holy shit I hammered the fuck out of that green whistle :) The paramedic was trying to take it off me, but I was doing king sized hits even though the pain was virtually gone.

Very, very, very nice :D
 
Hmm that whistle does nothing to me more than sgetting a whiff of petrol does.
 
Splatt said:
More likely to suffer from heart attacks? Why because of a higher heart rate?

I won't believe any of this shit unless they show the real study results, not some butchered study hacked into the form of a tabloid news article.
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I would presume they mean post-op or during the op though. It's kinda logical that nitrous lowers the immune system because of its interaction with b12. I imagine there are any number of infections/conditions that could contribute to a heart attack after such operations. Anything lowering the immune response probably brings about these kind of stats.

As long as I have my b12 and other vitamins handy i'm not worried.
 
Jimity said:
Funny you should mention this, because the dentist I saw the other day 'informed' me that no dentists use nitrous anymore; they all now use Methoxyflurane (that green whistle you see in ambos).

I'm pretty sure he is full of shit, because I had nitrous about 3 weeks earlier with someone else in the practice. I think he only said it because he could charge more.
Click to expand...
Last time I was in an ambulance and got given the green whistle they told me it was pethadeine. I was getting hooked up to a morphine drip at the time though so I can't really gauge if it had any affects on me.
 
They're not opiates, its more like a slight ether effect if anything.
 
intravenous said:
Last time I was in an ambulance and got given the green whistle they told me it was pethadeine. I was getting hooked up to a morphine drip at the time though so I can't really gauge if it had any affects on me.
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They told you it was pethadine because they didnt want to tell you it was an ether.
 
An ambulance paramedic I know said they are withdrawing Nitrous from the ambos because its too expensive compared to the alternitives.
 
hmm.. I need a nang. *nangs hard*

much better.

Why would they phase out such a wonderful drug, just give post op paitents some vitamins. Without Nitrous I would never visit my dentist
 
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