Table 3.
Stimulating and Sedating Effects and Similarity of N2O to Alcohol, Cannabis, and Cocaine
| Effect size (95% CI) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Pre (SD) | Mean Peri (SD) | Mean Post (SD) | N2O (current study) | Ketamine (Dickerson et al., 2010) | |
| BAES Stimulation (0–30) | |||||
| Medical air | 13.63 (4.65) | 9.66 (4.88) | 10.03 (5.58) | ||
| N2O | 13.78 (4.65) | 14.94 (10.66) | 11.47 (7.45) | 0.63 (0.13, 1.14) | 1.19 (0.63, 1.77) |
| BAES Sedation (0–30) | |||||
| Medical air | 5.50 (4.07) | 5.75 (5.63) | 5.41 (5.05) | ||
| N2O | 4.22 (4.57) | 11.09 (7.14) | 10.47 (6.27) | 0.82 (0.32, 1.34) | 1.68 (1.10, 2.31) |
| # Drinks equivalence | |||||
| Medical air | 0.00(0.00) | 0.22 (0.42) | 0.06 (0.25) | ||
| N2O | 0.00(0.00) | 3.44 (2.05) | 1.41 (1.24) | 2.15 (1.55, 2.79) | 1.38 (0.81, 1.98) |
| Similar to Alcohol (0–100) | |||||
| Medical air | 0.16 (0.37) | 2.88 (5.81) | 0.53 (1.68) | ||
| N2O | 0.19 (0.47) | 40.53 (26.58) | 18.91 (16.95) | 1.93 (1.35, 2.55) | 1.82 (1.21, 2.47) |
| Similar to cannabis (0–100)* | |||||
| Medical air | 0.90 (2.49) | 5.35 (9.01) | 2.60 (7.32) | ||
| N2O | 0.00 (0.00) | 47.20 (20.24) | 23.12 (22.51) | 2.64 (1.99, 3.34) | 1.19 (0.64, 1.78) |
| Similar to cocaine (0–100)** | |||||
| Medical air | 0.00 (0.00) | 0.50 (1.08) | 0.60 (1.90) | ||
| N2O | 0.63 (1.77) | 9.00 (11.03) | 0.63 (1.77) | 1.07 (0.56, 1.61) | NR |
Abbreviations: BAES, Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale.
Pre-, peri-, and postsubjective ratings for alcohol-, cannabis, and cocaine-like effects. Effect sizes are Hedges’ g based on peri-inhalation (trimmed) means and SDs for medical air and N2O. For comparison, the right-most column displays effect sizes for the same outcomes (where available) for ketamine (0.23 mg/kg bolus + 58 µg/kg/min) versus medical air at 15 minutes postbolus in Dickerson et al (2010). * Based on n = 24 in medical air; n = 31 in N2O group
** Based on n = 12 in medical air; n = 10 in N2O group
NR = Outcome not reported.