Topic summary
Anaesthetic
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Anesthetic.
Inhaled agents
No anaesthetic agent currently in use meets all these requirements, nor can any anaesthetic agent be considered completely safe. There are inherent risks and drug interactions that are specific to each and every patient. The agents in widespread current use are isoflurane, desflurane, sevoflurane, and nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is a common adjuvant gas, making it one of the most long-lived drugs still in current use. Because of its low potency, it cannot produce anesthesia on its own but is frequently combined with other agents. Halothane, an agent introduced in the 1950s, has been almost completely replaced in modern anesthesia practice by newer agents because of its shortcomings. Partly because of its side effects, enflurane never gained widespread popularity.