Triad of Anaesthesia Flashcards
What is a volatile agent?
Produce unconsciousness and oblivion when an adequate depth of anaesthesia has been achieved.
They can inhibit movement to pain and relax muscles by suppression of SPINAL REFLEXES.
Do volatile agents provide analgesia?
NO.
They can contribute towards it whilst a patient is anaesthetised but no post op pain relief.
Large doses are needed to inhibit SYMPATHETIC RESPONSE to pain.
What is MAC?
Minimus Alveolar Concentration.
The concentration of the vapour in the lungs that is needed to prevent 50% of patients moving when subjected to standard surgical incision.
It is an arbitrary number.
What are IV Anaesthetics?
They produce unconsciousness, oblivion and amnesia when dose is adequate.
They are purely hypnotic agents and not analgesic.
What’s the difference between IV Anaesthetics and Volatile Agents?
IV Anaesthetics do not inhibit spinal reflexes like volatile anaesthetics do. They are poor at inhibiting movement in surgery.
What IV Anaesthetics can be both hypnotic and analgesic?
Ketamine
What can Benzodiazapenes be used for in anaesthesia?
They are amnesic.
They are synergistic with opiates and anaesthetics agents.
They have small contribution to unconsciousness and muscle relaxation in theatre.
What are muscle relaxants?
They relax muscles.
They have no anaesthetic or analgesic effects.
How do neuromuscular blockers work?
They block transmission at the NMJ
Why are simple analgesics used in theatres?
They have been shown to reduce opiate requirements post-op.
What is multimodal anaesthesia?
Balance of combinations of analgesic agents and techniques.
