General & local anesthetics Flashcards
What are the components of general anesthesia?
Amnesia and a lack of response to pain. Unconsciousness is not a required component (eg Ketamine, Midazolam)
What metrics are used to specify the potency of IV and gaseous anesthetics?
IV anesthetics have an EC50 related to plasma concentration.
Gas anesthetics have MAC, or minimal alveolar concentration which induces anesthesia. Anesthesia is achieved when the brain reaches MAC (equalized with alveoli).
What are two typical targets of anesthesia? Can you give some examples for each?
- Activation of inhibitory GABA receptors (eg Sodium thiopental)
- Inhibition of excitatory NMDA receptors (eg Ketamine)
Distinguish between inductive and maintenance anesthetics.
Anesthetics used for induction need to be fast and pleasant. They are often administered in a single dose (bolus).
Maintenance of anesthesia requires constant administration or long-lived action.
Many anesthetics can serve both functions.
Why may an anesthetic’s duration of action be shorter than its plasma half-life?
Although the active site is the CNS, many anesthetics redistribute to fat, leaching out to the plasma over a long interval.
Sodium Thiopental
What class of drug is this?
What is the target?
What is it used for?
What are its side effects?
Sodium Thiopental
Barbiturate
GABA receptor (activating)
Induction of anesthesia
Depression of CV (venodilation > hypotension), CNS (severe hangover due to long half-life; decrease ICP), Respiration
Propofol
What is the target?
What are its uses?
What are some additional benefits?
What are some drawbacks?
Propofol
GABA receptor (activating)
Induction and maintenance in outpatient setting
Less hangover than ST, reduces nausea and gives “pleasant dreams”
It may elicit pain or excitation on injection, and has worse CV/Resp side effects than ST.
Etomidate
What is the target?
What are its uses?
What are some drawbacks?
Etomidate
GABA receptor (activation)
Used in induction of anesthesia in hypotensive patients (low CV and respiratory depression)
Causes pain/myoclonus on injection. Nauseating and potentially suppressive of HPA axis.
Ketamine
What is the target?
For whom is it indicated? Why?
What are its unique side effects?
Ketamine
NMDA receptors (antagonism)
Patients with bronchospasm (ketamine is bronchodilatory) and children (experience less delirium)
Nystagmus, salivation, lacrimation, delirium, hypertension & increased ICP.
Midazolam
What is the target?
What is it used for?
Describe its kinetics.
What are its side effects?
Midazolam
GABA receptor (activation)
Conscious sedation & anxiolysis as an adjunctive during short surgeries. May be used for induction/pre-op.
Midazolam is activated by hydroxylation–slow induction and long action.
CV & respiratory depression. Contraindicated in Parkinson’s, NMJ diseases, and bipolarism.
Why are gaseous anesthetics generally avoided outside of emergencies?
They have very low therapeutic indices and require stricter control.
What are the significance of the following partition coefficients?
Blood:Gas
Brain:Blood
Fat:Blood
Blood:Gas is how plasma soluble it is. Lower means faster action and quicker elimination, but a large required dose.
Brain:Blood determines how well it reaches the brain.
**Fat:Blood **affects redistribution kinetics. Higher = longer half-life.
Predict how the following factors may affect gaseous induction.
High partial pressure of inspired air
Low pulmonary ventilation
High pulmonary blood flow
Higher partial pressure means a higher dose–this should expedite induction.
Low pulmonary ventilation means slow equilibration–this should slow induction.
High pulmonary blood flow delays equilibration locally, increasing the rate of induction systemically (net increase of gas diffusing from alveoli to blood per unit time)
What determines the arteriovenous concentration gradient of a gaseous anesthetic?
It depends on the rate of tissue uptake, which in turn depends on various tissue partition coefficients and perfusions.
For example, the gradient will be greater if all tissue take it up massively. If only the brain does, then the gradient would increase with higher brain perfusion.
In general, what traits of gaseous anesthetics will facilitate fast elimination & recovery?
Low blood:gas partition coefficient, low fat:blood coefficient.
Overall, low blood and fat solubilities.