Vasoconstrictor agents are often used to reduce bleeding and hence improvethe operative field in surgery. These agents are potentially dangerous. A trial was undertaken to compare the use of adrenaline 1:80,000 with saline alone as an infiltrating agent in 30 consecutive patients undergoing septoplasty under general anaesthesia. This study, based on a small number of patients can draw no firm conclusions. There are no really dramatic differences between 1:80,000 adrenaline and saline, in terms of blood loss, operative time and the condition of the operative field between the two groups. However, there is a possibility that there are substantial differences, which, because of the variability of these outcomes, could not be detected in a study as small as this. It is recommended that a randomized trial involving patients is used to answer the question.