Inhalant Anesthesia Flashcards
What was the first used inhaled anesthetic? Why is it no longer used?
diethyl ether
- tracheal and bronchial mucosa irritatino
- prolonged induction and recovery
- post-op nausea and vomiting
- flammable and explosive
What were 3 desirable characteristics of diethyl ether?
- stable cardiac output, rhythm, and BP
- stable respiration
- good muscle relaxation
What is the most common inhalant anesthesia in North America? What is it approved for use in?
isoflurane
dogs and horses - commonly used in other species
What allows for rapid induction and recovery associated with sevoflurane? What is it approved for use in?
low blood:gas partition coefficient —> highly controllable depth
dogs
What is the flammability of inhaled anestehtics like?
- ETHER = flammable and explosive
- NITROUS OXIDE = supports flammability
- HALOTHANE and ISO = flammable at extremely high concentrations not normally used in practice
What are the odors of ether, isoflurane, and sevoflurane like?
irritant
pungent, animals resent mask induction
acceptable
What are the 3 major effects of inhalent anesthetics?
- unconsciousness (bind to ligand-gated ion channels and block CNS neurotransmission)
- muscle relaxation
- dose-dependent cardiovascular and respiratory depression - reduced contractility, systemic vascular resistance (vasodilation)
How do inhaled anesthetics affect blood pressure? What effects fo halothane, sevoflurane, desflurane, isoflurane, and nitrous oxide have?
reduce blood pressure (CO x SVR)
- HALO = reduces contractility, maintains SVR
- SEVO/DES/ISO = reduce SVR, maintains CO (truly vasodilatory via NO, cyclooxygenase, adenylate cyclase)
- N2O = used with sevo or iso to attenuate BP reduction
Which inhaled anesthetics have minimal effects on HR? Which ones increase it?
halothane and sevoflurane
isoflurane and desflurane cause sympathetic stimulation due to hypotension (can be confused with a too light plane)
How do inhaled anesthetics affect ventilation? What are 4 effects?
depressed TV and minute ventilation
- increases ratio of dead space to tidal volume
- hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction response decreases
- expiratory muscles effort increases, promoting atelectasis
- decreases response to increased CO2 and hypoxia
What inhaled anesthetic attenuates ventilatory decrease?
nitrous oxide
What inhaled anesthetics are associated with airway irritation? What is typically added to decrease this? On what patients are these anesthetics avoided?
desflurane and isoflurane are pungent, making patients cough and bronchospasm
better tolerated with opioids and sedatives on board
avoided in “light patients” without other drugs due to potential for life-threatening bronchospasm
What inhaled anesthetics are not associated with airway irritation?
N2O, sevo, halo —> very little bronchospasm
How do inhaled anesthetics affect intracranial pressure? Which one has the most and least effect?
increase intracranial pressure by increasing cerebral blood flow (vasodilation)
- HALOTHANE = greatest effect
- SEVOFLURANE = least effect
What effect do inhaled anesthetics have on cerebral oxygen consumption? What is an exception?
decreases O2 consumption, but increases cerebral blood flow
N2O - increases cerebral O2 consumption and cerebral blood flow
What are the most common hepatic and renal effects of inhaled anesthetics?
HEPATIC = decrease portal vein flow and inhibit metabolism of other drugs
RENAL = dose-dependent reduction in blood flow, GFR, and urine output
How are inhaled anesthetics able to reach the brain?
gain entrance via the respiratory tract, where they maintain steady alveolar concentration and enter systemic circulation
- uptake and distribution
What are 4 theories on molecular targets and anatomic sites of action of inhaled anesthetics?
- enhance inhibitory receptors, including GABA and glycine receptors
- induce an inhibitory effect on excitatory channels like neuronal nicotinic and glutamate receptors
- produce immobility by action at the spinal cord
- produce amensia by action on supraspinal structures, like the amygdala, hippocampus, and cortex
What is anesthetic potency proportional to? What does it suggest?
solubility in olive oil
anesthesia is produced when a certain number of molecules occupy a region of nerve cell membranes, specifically ligand-gated GABA, NMDA, and nACh channels; voltage-gated Kv and BK channels; and background TREK, Kan, and S channels
How do anesthetic liquids travel to the brain and interact with lipid and proteins to induce anesthesia?
- vaporized and mixed with oxygen
- mixture is delivered to the alveoli via a mask or ET tube
- mixture diffuses into the bloodstream
What affects the diffusion rate of inhaled anesthetics across alveoli walls? Distribution to tissues?
concentration gradient of alveoli and capillaries and lipid solubility of anesthetic gas
blood supply and lipid solubility (brain, heart, and kidney have greater blood flow = quickly saturated)
What is the maintenance of gas anesthesia dependent on?
sufficient quantities of anesthetic delivered to and maintained in the alveoli
- brain levels of inhalant = arterial levels = alveolar levels
What are gas and vapors? Whats the difference?
collections of molecules in constant state of motion and bombardment, attraction, and repulsion
- GAS = agent exists as a gaseous form at room temperature and sea level pressure (N2O)
- VAPOR = gaseous form of an agent that exists as a liquid at room temperature and seal level pressure (contemporary anesthetics)
What are quantities of inhaled anesthetics measured by?
partial pressure - force per unit area created by the constant state of motion
- concentration in vol %*
- mass in mg or g
What is vapor pressure? How does this affect the administration of inhaled anesthetics?
pressure that vapor molecules exert when the liquid and vapor phases are in equilibrium —> measure of the tendency for molecules in a liquid to evaporate or enter gaseous phase
inhalant anesthetics have very high vapor pressure - too high to be safely given to patients as a liquid
How does temperature affect vapor pressure?
as temperature increases, the vapor pressure and concentration increases, meaning more molecules go into the gaseous vs. liquid phases and are available to the patient
- vaporizers are temperature controlled!
What are volatile agents? How are their vaporizers made?
high vapor pressure agents (iso, sevo, des, halo) that evaporate readily and are delivered from unique precision vaporizers to control their delivery
made to delivery only a specific halogenated agent and located OUTSIDE the breathing circuit
What are nonvolatile agents? How are their vaporizers made?
low vapor pressure agents (methoxyflurane) that have no need for precision vaporizers
non-precision (liquid in jar) vaporizers, often within the breathing circuit
What are the 3 purposes of vaporizers? What do their dials control?
- dilute vapor generated by the liquid anesthetic with oxygen
- further mixes with bypass oxygen
- get safer vapor pressure to deliver to the patient
ratio of bypass oxygen to agent-filled oxygen
Once in the gas/vapor form, what 5 things affect inhalant concentrations getting into the alveolus?
- inspired partial pressure - high pressure = accelerated induction
- alveolar ventilation - high ventilation = increased alveolar uptake
- volume of the anesthetic breathing system
- solubility of anesthetic in components of the system
- gas inflow from anesthetic machine
In what 2 ways can the partial pressure of an inhalant be increased?
- turn up vaporizer to multiples of MAC
- increase oxygen flow