Awake sedation, anesthetization followed by restoration to consciousness, could reduce brain tumor surgery recovery time, U. S. researchers have suggested.

According to the reports, researchers at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus studied 39 patients treated for glioma, a type of brain tumor. Twenty patients were initially anesthetized but restored to consciousness during surgery on the brain, while the remaining 19 were treated using more traditional general anesthesia.

The patients receiving awake sedation had shorter hospital stays after leaving intensive care, 3.5 days, vs. patients receiving general anesthesia, at 4.6 days.

It was also reported that shorter hospital stays led to an average 36 percent less direct costs after intensive care for the awake sedation cases.

Study leader Dr. E. Antonio Chiocca says in a statement, "This finding needs to be validated with a randomized prospective clinical trial. Changing our current way of delivering anesthesia for these patients could allow them to leave the hospital sooner and save resources." (With Inputs from Agencies)