Outpatient termination of pregnancy: halothane or alfentanil-supplemented anaesthesia.

Inhalation anaesthesia with halothane was compared with i.v. alfentanil in 66 unpremedicated patients undergoing suction termination of pregnancy as outpatients. Blood loss was significantly greater in the halothane group with a mean loss of 213 ml, compared with a mean loss of 89.8 ml in the alfentanil group. There was a greater frequency of nausea and vomiting in the alfentanil group, but no reduction in abdominal pain or need for analgesia after operation. Positive relationships were found between blood loss and duration of anaesthesia and between blood loss and gestational age in the halothane group, but not in the alfentanil group. We conclude that alfentanil-supplemented anaesthesia is satisfactory for suction termination of pregnancy when rapid recovery is required or the duration of the procedure is likely to be long, but that halothane anaesthesia cannot be recommended, especially if the procedure is long.