Sevoflurane 100% inhalation vapour liquid
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Official medicine documents
Yellow Card
Report side effects (MHRA)
Drug safety updates
MHRA alerts for Sevoflurane
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Sevoflurane
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Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Sevoflurane
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
4 branded products available
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Sevoflurane on the MHRA register
Sevoflurane 100% inhalation vapour liquid
Sevoflurane 100% inhalation vapour liquid
Sevoflurane 100% inhalation vapour liquid
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICE clinical guidance(6)
Desflurane for maintenance of anaesthesia (ES41)
Sedation in under 19s: using sedation for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures (CG112)
End-tidal Control software for use with Aisys closed circuit anaesthesia systems for automated gas control during general anaesthesia (MIB10)
Sedaconda ACD-S for sedation with volatile anaesthetics in intensive care (HTG607)
Depth of anaesthesia monitors – Bispectral Index (BIS), E-Entropy and Narcotrend-Compact M (HTG292)
Abortion care (NG140)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
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Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 12 · Randomised trials: 19 · 1992–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Zhang YQ, Zhang YJ, Jing Y, et al.
2026
- Methyl Ethers
- Anesthetics, Inhalation
- Acute Lung Injury
Guo N, Wen X, Wang X, et al.
2026
ObjectivesTo conduct a systematic review and comparison of the effects of propofol and sevoflurane anesthesia on cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients following abdominal surgery.MethodsComparative studies published in PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Medline databases as of 08 Jun 2025 were searched. The final extracted data was analyzed using Review Manager 5.4.ResultsThe 7 randomized controlled studies included a total of 802 patients who had undergone abdominal surgery, of whom 402 were anesthetized with propofol and 400 were anesthetized with sevoflurane. The outcomes of the meta-analysis showed that there were no statistically significant differences in operating time, anesthesia time, incidence of hypotension, the incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (all P > 0.05), between the propofol and sevoflurane groups. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the severity of cognitive dysfunction between the two groups of patients on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th day after surgery (all P > 0.05).ConclusionThe meta-analysis results showed that there was no significant difference in the severity of cognitive dysfunction between the he propofol and sevoflurane groups of patients on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th day after surgery. This conclusion still does not prove that either one is more suitable for anesthesia in elderly patients, and more samples and clinical studies are needed to confirm.Trial registrationPROSPERO registration number is: CRD42022324055.
Abstract licence: CC BY
Madkhali MM, Safhi AY, Khormi NA, et al.
2026
Guerguer W, Fahaid AM, Benhammou M, et al.
2026
- Benzodiazepines
- Anesthetics, Intravenous
- Anesthesia, General
Coca-Alves P, Torra-Bou JE, Blanco-Blanco J
2026
- Wounds and Injuries
- Analgesics
- Wound Healing
Gina Stangel
2020
General anesthesia is intended to deliver proper comfort and pain relief, with a safe and rapid recovery with minimal side effects. Ideally, patients are optimized prior to undergoing anesthesia, (an asthmatic receiving an albuterol treatment to reduce the likelihood of bronchospasm, for example). Emergence from anesthesia involves the reversal of a neuromuscular blockade if used, a patient breathing spontaneously, regaining consciousness, and the ability to follow commands. Patients requiring general anesthesia can be given intravenous propofol, an inhaled anesthetic gas or a combination of both. Volatile anesthetic gases used today allow for rapid recovery from anesthesia due to their low-blood gas solubility. While volatiles are generally safe for patients, inhalation agents do cause respiratory depression, which can still pose a problem once the patient is transferred to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). Respiratory depression has the potential to cause atelectasis, hypoxia, hypercarbia, and longer PACU or hospital stays. General anesthesia also results in the loss of protective airway reflexes, which can lead to pulmonary aspiration and potentially cause pneumonia and death. Sevoflurane and desflurane are two of the most commonly used volatile anesthetics in the United States. The purpose of this systematic review was to compare the recovery time between desflurane and sevoflurane in hospitalized adults undergoing general anesthesia. The PRISMA flow diagram was used to guide the systematic review. Data was collected from each study and a cross study analysis was conducted. Findings indicated, in all studies, that desflurane showed significantly faster recovery than sevoflurane. Use of desflurane over sevoflurane shows faster, safer recovery, an important consideration for anesthesia providers. Applying this to practice can make an immense difference in the post-operative recovery of adults undergoing general anesthesia.
Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND
Dan Tan, Haifa Xia, Shujun Sun, et al.
BMC Anesthesiology, 2019
Jun Xiong, Mengrui Wang, Jie Gao, et al.
PLoS ONE, 2023
Mats Enlund, Anders Berglund, Anna Enlund, et al.
EClinicalMedicine, 2023
Vu Thanh Lam, Nguyen Minh Ly
Journal of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Research, 2025
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
75 found
Half-life
20 hours
Mechanism
The precise mechanism of action of sevoflurane has not been fully elucidated.
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
6 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
Half-life
20 hours
[A249885]
Protein binding
Volume of distribution
Metabolism
5%
Elimination
95%
[A249885][L42340]
…
Clearance
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
[L42340]
Known interactions with other medicines. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1498 interactions
[L42340]
Patients experiencing an overdose may be at an increased risk of severe adverse effects such as renal injury, respiratory depression, severe bradycardia and cardiac arrest. Fatalities due to sevoflurane abuse have been reported as well.
[A249900]
Symptomatic and supportive measures are recommended. Animal studies have shown that the use of anesthetic agents during periods of rapid brain growth or synaptogenesis results in alterations in synaptic morphology and neurogenesis.
In primates, anesthetic regimens of up to 3 hours did not increase neuronal cell loss, but regimens of 5 hours or longer did have a significant effect.
[L42340]
The oral LD50 of sevoflurane is 10.8 g/kg in rats and 18.2 g/kg in mice.
[L42345]
The use of sevoflurane can increase the risk of renal injury, respiratory depression, and QT prolongation. Also, it can lead to malignant hyperthermia, perioperative hyperkalemia, and pediatric neurotoxicity. Episodes of severe bradycardia and cardiac arrest have been reported in pediatric patients with Down Syndrome given sevoflurane. Sevoflurane anesthesia may impair the performance of activities requiring mental alertness, such as driving or operating machinery.[L42340]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L42340]
Therefore, a minimal amount of sevoflurane needs to be dissolved in blood in order to induce anesthesia.
[A249885]
[A249885]
[L42340]
[A226540]
[L42340]
In most cases, inorganic fluoride reaches its highest concentration within 2 hours of the end of sevoflurane anesthesia, and returns to baseline levels within 48 hours. Sevoflurane metabolism may be induced by chronic exposure to isoniazid and ethanol, and it has been shown that barbiturates do not affect it.
[L42340]
[A249885][L42340]
Up to 3.5% of the sevoflurane dose appears in urine as inorganic fluoride, and as much as 50% of fluoride clearance is nonrenal (fluoride taken up into bone).
[L42340]
[A226540]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:10449790 PMID:16412217
GABA-gated chloride channels, also named GABA(A) receptors (GABAAR), consist of five subunits arranged around a central pore and contain GABA active binding site(s) located at the alpha and beta subunit interfaces (By similarity). When activated by GABA, GABAARs selectively allow the flow of chloride anions across the cell membrane down their electrochemical gradient PMID:10449790 PMID:16412217
PMID:14551753 PMID:23994010 PMID:25730860 PMID:37821459
Plays an important role in the down-regulation of neuronal excitability .
PMID:8298642 PMID:9009272
Contributes to the generation of inhibitory postsynaptic currents .
PMID:25445488
Channel activity is potentiated by ethanol .
PMID:25973519
Potentiation of channel activity by intoxicating levels of ethanol contribute to the sedative effects of ethanol (By similarity)
PMID:1311100 PMID:20805473 PMID:21172611 PMID:28628100 PMID:35675825
L-glutamate acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter at many synapses in the central nervous system. Binding of the excitatory neurotransmitter L-glutamate induces a conformation change, leading to the opening of the cation channel, and thereby converts the chemical signal to an electrical impulse upon entry of monovalent and divalent cations such as sodium and calcium. The receptor then desensitizes rapidly and enters in a transient inactive state, characterized by the presence of bound agonist (By similarity).
In the presence of CACNG2 or CACNG4 or CACNG7 or CACNG8, shows resensitization which is characterized by a delayed accumulation of current flux upon continued application of L-glutamate .
PMID:21172611
Resensitization is blocked by CNIH2 through interaction with CACNG8 in the CACNG8-containing AMPA receptors complex .
PMID:21172611
Calcium (Ca(2+)) permeability depends on subunits composition and, heteromeric channels containing edited GRIA2 subunit are calcium-impermeable. Also permeable to other divalents cations such as strontium(2+) and magnesium(2+) and monovalent cations such as potassium(1+) and lithium(1+) (By similarity)
PMID:12542527 PMID:16402920
Involved in autophagy in response to starvation. Upon interaction with VMP1 and activation, controls ER-isolation membrane contacts for autophagosome formation .
PMID:28890335
Also modulates ER contacts with lipid droplets, mitochondria and endosomes .
PMID:28890335
In coordination with FLVCR2 mediates heme-stimulated switching from mitochondrial ATP synthesis to thermogenesis (By similarity)
PMID:31435016
Together with ATP-binding subunit ABCB8/MITOSUR of the mitoK(ATP) channel, mediates ATP-dependent K(+) currents across the mitochondrial inner membrane .
PMID:31435016
An increase in ATP intracellular levels closes the channel, inhibiting K(+) transport, whereas a decrease in ATP levels enhances K(+) uptake in the mitochondrial matrix. May contribute to the homeostatic control of cellular metabolism under stress conditions by regulating the mitochondrial matrix volume PMID:31435016
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that carry this drug through the body
PMID:19021548
Major calcium and magnesium transporter in plasma, binds approximately 45% of circulating calcium and magnesium in plasma (By similarity).
Potentially has more than two calcium-binding sites and might additionally bind calcium in a non-specific manner (By similarity). The shared binding site between zinc and calcium at residue Asp-273 suggests a crosstalk between zinc and calcium transport in the blood (By similarity). The rank order of affinity is zinc > calcium > magnesium (By similarity).
Binds to the bacterial siderophore enterobactin and inhibits enterobactin-mediated iron uptake of E.coli from ferric transferrin, and may thereby limit the utilization of iron and growth of enteric bacteria such as E.coli .
PMID:6234017
Does not prevent iron uptake by the bacterial siderophore aerobactin PMID:6234017
ATC N01AB08
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Sevoflurane
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
169
ChemSpider
5017
ZINC
ZINC000001530810
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4075
GenAtlas
GABRA1
GeneCards
GABRA1
GenBank Gene Database
X13584
GenBank Protein Database
31631
Guide to Pharmacology
404
UniProt Accession
GBRA1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4076
GenAtlas
GABRA2
GeneCards
GABRA2
GenBank Gene Database
S62907
GenBank Protein Database
386422
Guide to Pharmacology
405
UniProt Accession
GBRA2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4077
GenAtlas
GABRA3
GeneCards
GABRA3
GenBank Gene Database
S62908
GenBank Protein Database
386424
Guide to Pharmacology
406
UniProt Accession
GBRA3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4078
GenAtlas
GABRA4
GeneCards
GABRA4
GenBank Gene Database
U30461
GenBank Protein Database
905393
Guide to Pharmacology
407
UniProt Accession
GBRA4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4079
GenAtlas
GABRA5
GeneCards
GABRA5
GenBank Gene Database
L08485
GenBank Protein Database
182916
Guide to Pharmacology
408
UniProt Accession
GBRA5_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4080
GenAtlas
GABRA6
GeneCards
GABRA6
GenBank Gene Database
S81944
GenBank Protein Database
1470364
Guide to Pharmacology
409
UniProt Accession
GBRA6_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4081
GenAtlas
GABRB1
GeneCards
GABRB1
GenBank Gene Database
X14767
GenBank Protein Database
31635
UniProt Accession
GBRB1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4082
GenAtlas
GABRB2
GeneCards
GABRB2
GenBank Gene Database
S67368
GenBank Protein Database
455946
UniProt Accession
GBRB2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4083
GenAtlas
GABRB3
GeneCards
GABRB3
GenBank Gene Database
M82919
GenBank Protein Database
182925
Guide to Pharmacology
412
UniProt Accession
GBRB3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4084
GeneCards
GABRD
GenBank Gene Database
AF016917
GenBank Protein Database
2388693
UniProt Accession
GBRD_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4085
GeneCards
GABRE
GenBank Gene Database
U66661
GenBank Protein Database
1857126
UniProt Accession
GBRE_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4086
GeneCards
GABRG1
GenBank Gene Database
AK122845
GenBank Protein Database
193783776
UniProt Accession
GBRG1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4087
GeneCards
GABRG2
GenBank Gene Database
X15376
GenBank Protein Database
31637
UniProt Accession
GBRG2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4088
GeneCards
GABRG3
GenBank Gene Database
S82769
GenBank Protein Database
1754749
UniProt Accession
GBRG3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4089
GeneCards
GABRP
GenBank Gene Database
U95367
GenBank Protein Database
2197001
UniProt Accession
GBRP_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:14454
GeneCards
GABRQ
GenBank Gene Database
AF189259
GenBank Protein Database
7861736
UniProt Accession
GBRT_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4326
GenAtlas
GLRA1
GeneCards
GLRA1
GenBank Gene Database
X52009
GenBank Protein Database
31851
Guide to Pharmacology
423
UniProt Accession
GLRA1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4571
GenAtlas
GRIA1
GeneCards
GRIA1
GenBank Gene Database
M64752
GenBank Protein Database
183281
Guide to Pharmacology
444
UniProt Accession
GRIA1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:13211
GenAtlas
ATP2C1
GeneCards
ATP2C1
GenBank Gene Database
AF181120
GenBank Protein Database
6715131
UniProt Accession
AT2C1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:29103
GeneCards
ATP2C2
UniProt Accession
AT2C2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:814
GeneCards
ATP2B1
UniProt Accession
AT2B1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:815
GeneCards
ATP2B2
UniProt Accession
AT2B2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:816
GeneCards
ATP2B3
UniProt Accession
AT2B3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:817
GeneCards
ATP2B4
UniProt Accession
AT2B4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:811
GeneCards
ATP2A1
GenBank Gene Database
AK291314
GenBank Protein Database
158256064
Guide to Pharmacology
840
UniProt Accession
AT2A1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:812
GeneCards
ATP2A2
GenBank Gene Database
M23114
GenBank Protein Database
306850
UniProt Accession
AT2A2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:25714
GeneCards
CCDC51
UniProt Accession
MITOK_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:7455
GenAtlas
MT-ND1
GeneCards
MT-ND1
GenBank Gene Database
V00662
GenBank Protein Database
13004
UniProt Accession
NU1M_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2615
GeneCards
CYP2B6
GenBank Gene Database
M29874
GenBank Protein Database
181296
Guide to Pharmacology
1324
UniProt Accession
CP2B6_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2631
GeneCards
CYP2E1
GenBank Gene Database
J02625
GenBank Protein Database
181360
Guide to Pharmacology
1330
UniProt Accession
CP2E1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2610
GenAtlas
CYP2A6
GeneCards
CYP2A6
GenBank Gene Database
X13897
Guide to Pharmacology
1321
UniProt Accession
CP2A6_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2637
GenAtlas
CYP3A4
GeneCards
CYP3A4
GenBank Gene Database
M18907
Guide to Pharmacology
1337
UniProt Accession
CP3A4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:399
GenAtlas
ALB
GeneCards
ALB
GenBank Gene Database
V00494
GenBank Protein Database
28590
UniProt Accession
ALBU_HUMAN
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite:
- DrugBank 6.02024Recommended citationKnox C., Wilson M., Klinger C.M., et alDrugBank 6.0: the DrugBank Knowledgebase for 2024Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 Jan 552(D1):D1265-D1275
- DrugBank 5.02018Wishart D.S., Feunang Y.D., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank 5.0: a major update to the DrugBank database for 2018Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Nov 846(D1):D1074-D1082
- DrugBank 4.02014Law V., Knox C., Djoumbou Y., et alDrugBank 4.0: shedding new light on drug metabolismNucleic Acids Res. 2014 Jan 142(1):D1091-7
- DrugBank 3.02011Knox C., Law V., Jewison T., et alDrugBank 3.0: a comprehensive resource for 'omics' research on drugsNucleic Acids Res. 2011 Jan39(Database issue):D1035-41
- DrugBank 2.02008Wishart D.S., Knox C., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank: a knowledgebase for drugs, drug actions and drug targets.Nucleic Acids Research2008 Jan36(Database issue):D901-6
- DrugBank 1.02006Wishart D.S., Knox C., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank: a comprehensive resource for in silico drug discovery and exploration.Nucleic Acids Research2006 Jan 134(Database issue):D668-72