Pharm

Nitrous Oxide

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Nitrous Oxide, Laughing Gas

  • See Also
  1. Nitrous Oxide Abuse
  • Indications
  1. Procedural Sedation (esp. pediatrics)
    1. Low intensity procedures (e.g. Lumbar Puncture, Laceration Repair, minor Fracture reduction)
  2. Moderate analgesia
    1. Best used in combination with Local Anesthesia (e.g. local infiltration, Hematoma Block)
  • Contraindications (related to gas expansion risks)
  1. Pneumothorax
  2. Pulmonary Blebs
  3. Bowel Obstruction
  • History
  1. First used for Anesthesia in U.S. in 1845
  2. Used in a majority of pediatric dental offices
  • Mechanism
  1. Effects Opioid spinal modulators, GABA receptors, NMDA receptors
  2. Also releases endorphins
  • Pharmacology
  1. Excreted unchanged (not metabolized) primarily from lung
  2. Onset: 2-3 minutes
  3. Duration: 3-5 minutes
    1. Rapidly off-loads with oxygen (often given for 5 minutes after procedure)
  4. Effects
    1. Mild anxiolysis: <50% Nitrous Oxide
    2. Analgesia: 50-70% Nitrous Oxide
  • Adverse Effects
  1. Light headedness
  2. Somnolence
  3. Confusion
  4. Paresthesias
  5. Nausea or Vomiting (1-2% of cases)
    1. Vomiting is uncommon unless concurrent Opioids are used
  6. Inadequate sedation (1.2% of cases)
  7. Airway obstruction or Hypoxia (0.25% of cases)
    1. More common with concurrent Opioids or Benzodiazepines
  • Safety
  1. Among the safest sedation agents with proper use and monitoring (ACEP, 1984)
  2. Airway obstruction or Hypoxia is rare (0.25% of cases)
  3. Very rare mortality (case reports)
  4. No pregnancy data, and not recommended in first or second trimester
  5. No delay in Lactation
  • Preparation
  1. General equipment
    1. Oxygen supply
    2. Wall suction
    3. Airway equipment
  2. Educate patient on use of mask
    1. Patient instructed to take deeper breaths if feels more pain
  3. Nitrous Oxide delivery device
    1. Nasal mask (may be scented)
    2. Delivery mix: 50:50 to 70:30 mix of Nitrous Oxide and oxygen
    3. Device should have audible alarms, flow control and scavenger functionality (suction)
    4. Does not require a medical gas vacuum system
  • Dosing
  1. Goal Nitrous Oxide effects (expect onset within 2-3 min of starting Nitrous Oxide)
    1. Apathy
    2. Somnolence
    3. Still responds to verbal stimuli
  2. Start with total liter flow estimation
    1. Child: 4-5 L/min
    2. Adult: 6-7 L/min
    3. Watch reservoir bag while on oxygen only, and goal inflation is 2/3 full (not collapsed and not full)
  3. Initiate Nitrous Oxide
    1. Start 10-15% Nitrous Oxide and increase every couple of minutes to effect (see above)
    2. Patient asked to breath normally through their nose and to relax
    3. Prepare patient that they may have arms and legs
  4. Titrate Nitrous Oxide
    1. Stop agent for Nausea (and allow to dissipate over 2-3 minutes, and then re-start)
    2. Decrease Nitrous Oxide if Agitation occurs
    3. Oxygen reverses effects if too much sedation
  5. Self-titration method
    1. Patient holds mask to their own face
    2. As sedation increases, the mask drops away
    3. When they awaken again, they replace the mask to once again increase sedation
  • References
  1. Acker, Koval and Leeper (2017) Crit Dec Emerg Med 31(4): 3-13
  2. Cordle (2016) Nitrous Oxide Lecture, ACEP PEM Conference, attended 3/9/2016