Approximately 25% of patients undergoing major surgery have known coronary artery disease (CAD) or risk factors for CAD.~N2O interferes with vitamin B12 and folate metabolism. This impairs production of methionine (from homocysteine), used to form tetrahydrofolate and thymidine during DNA synthesis. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that N2O anaesthesia increases postoperative homocysteine levels. Chronic hyperhomocysteinaemia is associated with cardiovascular disease, and acute hyperhomocysteinaemia is known to cause endothelial dysfunction. One small trial has demonstrated an increased incidence of postoperative myocardial ischaemia in patients receiving N2O anaesthesia. Reducing postoperative myocardial infarction and death are important aims for those with CAD undergoing major surgery.~Our previous trial (ENIGMA) studied 2050 patients and identified some serious adverse effects, but most patients were not at risk of CAD and so we could not reliably assess serious cardiac complications. We propose a large simple randomized clinical trial of 7,000 patients to provide a definitive evaluation of the safety of N2O anaesthesia.~Updated statistical analysis plan can be found at www.enigma2.org.au.
To investigate the safety of nitrous oxide (N2O) anaesthesia in patients with risk factors for coronary artery disease undergoing major surgery.