Desflurane

Desflurane is an organofluorine compound. It has a role as an inhalation anaesthetic. It derives from a methoxyethane.|Desflurane is a highly fluorinated methyl ethyl ether used for maintenance of general anaesthesia. Volatile agents such as desflurane may activate GABA channels and hyperpolarize cell membranes. In addition, they may inhibit certain calcium channels and therefore prevent release of neurotransmitters and inhibit glutamate channels. Volatile anesthetics easily partition into cellular membranes and could expand the volume of the cell membrane and subsequently distort channels necessary for sodium ion flux and the development of action potentials necessary for synaptic transmission. Desflurane preconditions human myocardium against ischemia through activation of mitochondrial K(ATP) channels, adenosine A1 receptor, and alpha and beta adrenoceptors.|Desflurane is one of the most commonly used volatile anesthetic agents and has an excellent safety record. Rare single case reports of severe acute liver injury resembling halothane hepatitis due to desflurane have been published.|Desflurane is a fluorinated ether with general anesthetic and muscle relaxant activities. Although the exact mechanism of action has not been established, desflurane, administered by inhalation, appears to act on the lipid matrix of the neuronal membrane, resulting in disruption of neuronal transmission in the brain. This agent may also enhance the synaptic activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).|A fluorinated ether that is used as a volatile anesthetic for maintenance of general anesthesia.