Does Halothane Really Preserve Cardiac Baroreflex Better Than Sevoflurane?
Heart rate profiles during the induction of anesthesia differ markedly between the administration of sevoflurane and halothane. Previous investigations have shown that halothane preserves cardiac parasympathetic activity more than sevoflurane. Because vagal drive to the sinus node is the main effector of arterial baroreflex control of heart rate, halothane may preserve cardiac baroreflex better than sevoflurane. To investigate cardiac baroreflex in anesthetized children, we used two noninvasive methods providing different approaches to the arterial blood pressure (BP) and R-R interval (RRI) relationship: the sequence methods investigating beat-to-beat changes in BP and RRI (time domain) and the cross-spectral analysis investigating relationships between oscillations of BP and RRI (frequency domain). Children were randomly assigned to mask induction with sevoflurane in 100% oxygen, sevoflurane in 50% nitrous oxide/50% oxygen, or halothane in 50% nitrous oxide/50% oxygen. After tracheal
