For gaseous induction of anaesthesia in an uncooperative 4-year-old child, sevoflurane is the preferred agent primarily because it:
- A Is non-pungent with a pleasant odour, causing minimal airway irritation ✓
- B Has the lowest blood:gas partition coefficient of all volatile agents
- C Undergoes virtually no hepatic metabolism
- D Has the highest MAC among the halogenated ethers
Correct answer: A. Is non-pungent with a pleasant odour, causing minimal airway irritation
Explanation
Sevoflurane combines reasonable speed with a sweet, non-irritant odour, allowing smooth mask induction in children without coughing, breath holding or laryngospasm, problems that make the pungent isoflurane and desflurane unsuitable for this route. Desflurane still has the lower blood:gas coefficient, sevoflurane is metabolised to a greater extent than isoflurane or desflurane, and nitrous oxide exceeds all volatile agents in MAC.
Reference: Morgan and Mikhail's Clinical Anesthesiology, 7th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.