Anaesthetics Flashcards
Pre-operative assessment (optimisation)
History and examination
Relevant investigations
Risk assessment tools: ASA, surgery grade, exercise tolerance (METs)
Optimise control of chronic conditions
Advantages of pre-operative assessment
Reduces
- Anxiety
- Delays
- Cancellations
- Complications
- Length of stay
- Mortality
Disadvantages of pre-operative assessment
Iatrogenic harm of over-investigation
Pre-operative medication changes
- Most medications continue as normal
- Possible exceptions: stop metformin (prevent metabolic acidosis) + anticoagulants (prevent bleeding)
Pain
Personal experience influenced by biological, psychological and social factors (life experiences)
Benefits of treating pain
Basic Human Right
For patient:
- Physical: improve sleep, appetite, fewer medical complications
- Psychological: reduced suffering, depression, anxiety
- Improve quality of life
For family:
- Improved functioning
For society:
- Lower health costs
- Contribute to community
Classification of pain
Duration
- Acute
- Chronic: >3 months (pain lasts after normal healing, often no cause)
- Acute on chronic
Cause
- Cancer: progressive
- Non-cancer
Mechanism
- Nociceptive
- Neuropathic
Nociceptive pain
Obvious tissue injury
- Well localised
- Sharp, dull
Neuropathic pain
Nervous system damage/abnormality causing abnormal processing of pain signal
- Not well localised
- Burning, shooting, numbness, pins and needles
Pain physiology
- Tissue injury and release of chemicals (prostaglandins, Substance P)
- Stimulation of nociceptors (pain receptors)
- Signal travels in A-Delta or C nerve to dorsal horn and synapses (first relay station)
- Second nerve ascends in spinothalamic tract (on opposite side)
- Synapses in thalamus (second relay station)
- Pain perception in cortex
- Descending pathway from brain to dorsal horn (decreases pain signal)
Gate theory
Distraction stimulus travel in large nerve fibres to inhibitor neuron.
- Inhibits transmission of afferent nociceptive fibres in dorsal root ganglia
Pathological pain mechanisms
- Increased receptor numbers
- Abnormal sensitisation of nerves
- Chemical changes in dorsal horn
- Loss of normal inhibitory modulation
Pain assessment
- Verbal rating score
- Numerical rating score
- Visual analogue scale
- Smiling faces
- Abbey Pain Scale (confused)
- Functional assessments
Non-pharmacological management of pain
- Rest, ice, elevation
- Nursing
- Surgery, acupuncture, massage, TENS, physiotherapy
- Psychological: explanation, reassurance, counselling
Acute (nociceptive) pain management
WHO pain ladder
- Mild: paracetamol, NSAIDs, aspirin
- Moderate: mild opioids (codeine, dihydrocodeine, tramadol) +/- non-opioids
- Severe: strong opioids (morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl) +/- non-opioids
RAT: recognise, assess (severity, type), treat, reassess
Neuropathic pain management
Antidepressants (amitriptyline, duloxetine)
Anticonvulsants (carbamazepine, sodium valproate, gabapentin)
Triad of anaesthesia
- Hypnosis
- Unconsciousness
- General anaesthetic - Analgesia
- Suppress autonomic response to pain
- Opiates, local anaesthetic - Relaxation (skeletal muscle)
- Immobility, access to body cavities, artificial ventilation
- Interacts with nicotinic ACh receptor at NMJ
Balanced anaesthesia: use different drugs to achieve desired anaesthetic state
General anaesthesia
Producing insensibility in the whole body using central acting drugs, usually causing loss of consciousness
- Provide hypnosis and little muscle relaxation and analgesia
- Potent
Mechanisms: globally suppress neuronal activity
- Open chloride channels - bind allosterically to GABA receptors (hyperpolarise neurons, suppress excitatory synaptic activity)
General anaesthesia
- Pharmacological kinetics
Most common sequence: IV induction followed by inhalational maintenance
IV (thiopentone, propofol)
- Rapid onset/recovery (redistribution, metabolism)
- Target Controlled Infusion pump system
Inhalation (halogenated hydrocarbons)
- Low MAC (minimum alveolar concentration) = high potency
- Slow induction
Regional anaesthesia
Producing insensibility in an area of the body using local anaesthetics applied to nerves supplying relevant area
- Applied between spinal cord and periphery (anaesthesia distal to injection)
- Only pain sensation needs to be removed