Maintenance in Anaesthesia and avoiding awareness Flashcards
What are the fundamental features of volatile anaesthetic agents that enable us to provide anaesthesia safely and reliably
- Predictable ELIMINATION (delivered by the lungs and removed by the lungs)
- Predictable PHARMACOKINETICS (FiVA of 2 % = ± 2 kPA in blood at equilibrium
- MEASURABLE in real time in a gas mixture: providing confirmation of delivery and depth of anaesthesia
- Negative feedback if breathing spontaneously
What are the physical properties of an ideal volatile agent.
Name the agents that fall short of these ideal physical properties
Chemically stable in storage and use Volatile liquids at room temperature Please odour and non-irritant Non-flammable and non-explosive Low B:G --> rapid induction and recovery
Desflurane is close to its boiling point at room temperature. Therefore, it must be vaporised before adding to the inhaled gases (special vaporizer)
Desflurane and isoflurance are pungent and irritant
What are the administration properties of an ideal volatile agent.
Name the agents that fall short of these ideal administration properties
Easy administration via standard vaporizer
Rapid induction and recovery
Quick uptake/elimination from lungs/body
Desflurane requires a specific vaporiser
Volatiles with higher B:G take longer to achieve maintenance doses and emergence
What are the efficiency properties of an ideal volatile agent.
Sufficient lipid solubility (O:G) to allow high concentrations of O2 to be administered concurrently
What are the metabolism properties of an ideal volatile agent
Which agents are excreted unchanged
Entirely eliminated by the lungs with none metabolised by the body
Desflurane
Xenon
Financial properties of an ideal agent
Cost-effective
Highly fluorinated agents (Sevoflurane and desflurane) are expensive when used with high gas flows.
List the B:G solubility coefficients for the volatile agents
N2O: 0.47
Desflurane: 0.45 Sevoflurane: 0.65 Enflurane: 1.8 Isoflurane: 1.4 Halothane: 2.24
List the factors the influence speed of onset /offset
B:G (solubility) Va (Alveolar ventilation) CO (Cardiac Output) N2O (Second gas effect) FiVA (Concentration effect)
What % of isoflurane is metabolized?
0.2%
What % of Sevoflurane is metabolized?
3%
What % of Desflurane is metabolized?
0%
What % of Halothane is metabolized?
20% (immune hepatitis - rare)
How are the effects of volatile agents different in the elderly?
Elderly patients are more sensitive to volatile agents –> delayed emergence, drowsiness and confusion.
What is the Meyer-Overton hypothesis?
The Meyer-Overton hypothesis states that the potency of a volatile anaesthetic agent is proportional to its lipid solubility. This is illustrated when the Log of the MAC (%) is plotted against the log of the Oil:Gas partition coefficient and demonstrates that as O:G increases, the MAC decreases (increased potency).
What is MAC awake?
This is the MAC of anaesthetic producing unconsciousness in 50% of subjects.