Volatile Anesthetics Flashcards
Theories of Inhaled Anesthetics: Explain the Meyer-Overton correlation
- Chemically indifferent substances that are soluble in fat are anesthetics
- The relative potency of inhaled anesthetics depends on their fat/water partition coefficient
How do the volatile anesthetics work?
- We don’t really know!
- We believe that they enhance the inhibitory effects more than they put a damper on the excitatory effects
- Some how prevent normal neuronal signals from firing
Theories of Inhaled Anesthetics: Explain the Unitary Theory-
- Cell membranes are mostly lipid, so the majority of anesthetic effects must come from the effects on the cell membranes
What is the concept of MAC?
- MAC (minimum alveolar concentration): the concentration in non-paralyzed patients where 50% would not respond to surgical stimulation
- Universal measure for inhaled anesthetic potency
- MAC is analogous to plasma EC50
Who developed the concept of MAC?
Dr. Eger
1 MAC of any agent refers to?
- Same thing for all agents, it’s a level of anesthesia at which 50% of the patients will not move upon surgical incision
Theories of Inhaled Anesthetics: Explain the Protein Centered Theory-
- Signaling proteins (ion channels and receptors) are the molecular site of action
What is the effect of inhaled anesthetics on action potentials of the nervous system?
- Small reduction in amplitude
What is the effect of inhaled anesthetics on action potentials of the cardiovascular system?
- Reduced amplitude and duration
Inhaled anesthetics enhance inhibitory NT release and effects at what receptors?
Glycine, GABA receptors
Inhaled anesthetics decrease excitatory NT release and effects at what receptors?
- Na channels, K2P channels, NMDA receptors, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
What are the effects of inhaled anesthetics on the neocortex, hippocampus, amygdala?
- Sedation, amnesia
What are the effects of inhaled anesthetics on the diencephalon (thalamus), brainstem (reticular formation)?
- Unconsciousness
What are the effects of inhaled anesthetics on the spinal cord?
- Immobility
What are the effects of inhaled anesthetics on the myocardium of the cardiovascular system?
- Negative Inotropy through the excitation-contraction coupling
What are the effects of inhaled anesthetics on the conduction system of the cardiovascular system?
- Dysrhythmias by targeting the reducing amplitude and duration of action potentials
What are the effects of inhaled anesthetics on the vasculature of the cardiovascular system?
- Vasodilation through direct and indirect vasoregulation
Inhaled anesthetics hyperpolarize neurons to decrease what?
- Neuronal Excitability, determined by resting membrane potential, threshold potential, and input resistance
What are the presynaptic effects of inhaled anesthetics?
They alter neurotransmitter release
What are the postsynaptic effects of inhaled anesthetics?
They affect neurotransmitter responses
General anesthetics act by binding directly to ______?
- Amphiphilic cavities in proteins
The effects of inhaled anesthetics cannot be explained by a single molecular mechanism. Rather….?
- Multiple targets contribute to the effects of each agent
The immobilizing effect of inhaled anesthetics involves a site of action in the ________?
- Spinal Cord
The sedation/hypnosis and amnesia effects of inhaled anesthetics involve _______?
- Supraspinal mechanisms
The immobility effect of inhalation agents is probably mediated by?
- Spinal cord NMDA receptors
The immobility effect of inhaled anesthetics requires _____?
- 2.5-4X MAC needed to produce amnesia and unconsciousness
The unconsciousness effects of inhalation anesthetics is caused by ____?
- The hyperpolarization of thalamic sites, probably more of a dimmer switch than on/off
- Depends on interrupting synchronicity between multiple neural networks
The lack of awareness and recall effects of inhaled anesthetics occur in what regions of the brain?
- Hippocampal and amygdala
What is the last sense to go away and the first to return when using inhaled anesthetics?
- Hearing
The sedation effects of inhalation anesthetics is caused by?
- Potent agents: probably stimulate GABA
- N2O & Xenon: possibly antagonize NMDA
The neuroprotection effects of inhaled anesthetics _____?
- Prevent apoptosis, decreased CMRO2 (increased inhibitory & decreased excitatory transmission)
N2O can cause?
Neurotoxcitiy (irreversible cell damage)
Potent agents - less so
What are the CV effects of inhaled agents?
- Dose-dependent myocardial depression and hypotension ; decreased Ca availability and sensitivity in the heart
What are the respiratory effects of inhalation agents?
- Significant respiratory depression via central depression (increased inhibitory, decreased excitatory transmission)
- We will see decreased tidal volumes and an increase in RR in most of the inhalation agents, but the increased RR doesn’t compensate for the decreased tidal volume - so CO2 levels go up!
What are volatile anesthetics?
- Small molecular weight compounds administered as gases or vapors via inhalation
Why are volatile anesthetics fluorinated?
- Reduce or eliminate toxicity (metabolism)
- Reduce or eliminate anesthetic flammability
- Allow increased speed of induction and recovery from anesthesia
The more fluorine molecules….?
The faster you go to sleep and the faster you wake up
All potent inhaled anesthetics ______ tidal volume, _____ RR, and _____ resting ETCO2.
- Decrease tidal volume, increase RR, increase ETCO2
- Minute volume goes down, so your resting CO2 goes up
All potent inhaled anesthetics _____ the activity of laryngeal irritant receptors.
Increase
All potent inhaled anesthetics _____ the activity of pulmonary irritant receptors.
Decrease
All potent inhaled anesthetics _____ FRC. Why?
- Decrease
- Loss of intercostals
- Altered respiratory pattern
- Cephalad movement of the diaphragm
- Altered thoracic blood volume
All potent inhaled anesthetics relax smooth muscle (bronchodilation) by….?
- Directly depressing smooth muscle contractility
- Direct effects on bronchial epithelium and airway smooth muscle cells
- Indirect inhibition of reflex neural pathways
When is pulmonary vascular resistance the lowest?
- At a lung volume equivalent to FRC
An increase in pulmonary vascular resistance causes a corresponding increase in pulmonary arterial pressure that promotes ….?
Interstitial fluid to fill the lungs due to hydrostatic pressure
What causes increased pulmonary vascular resistance?
- PEEP
- Alveolar hypoxia
- Hypercapnia
- critical closing pressure
Inhaled anesthetics tend to _______ and may therefore have indirect effects on pulmonary vascular resistance.
- Reduce lung volume
Regional alterations in pulmonary vascular resistance affect: ?
- Regional distribution of blood flow within the lung
- Produce changes in ventilation-perfusion matching
- and simultaneously affect gas exchange
What is Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction?
- It is unique to pulmonary circulation in that other vascular beds (coronary, cerebral) dilate in response to hypoxia
How do anesthetics interfere with Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction to affect gas exchange?
- All volatile anesthetics vasodilate the pulmonary vascular bed and cause dose dependent myocardial depression
(Pt that has an issue w/ oxygenation and one of the lungs has a tumor, if you give the patient an inhalation agent - you will be giving O2 to that area bc of vasodilation of the pulmonary vessels.)
All inhalation agents alter both the central and peripheral receptors, which …?
- Shifts our CO2 response curves to the right, so we expect higher levels of CO2 when we have a patient breathing anesthetic agents
Oxygenation and O2 saturation is a function of….?
- The amount of oxygen you are delivering into the patient
- The amount of oxygen the blood is absorbing
- How well they are perfusing the peripheral tissues
CO2 levels are a function of ….?
- How much we are ventilating the patient and eliminating CO2 out of the lungs (if we give higher tidal volumes we will remove more CO2, if you give additional oxygen you don’t lower CO2 levels)
Where is the central Chemical Control of Respiration located?
- Near the ventrolateral medulla and other brainstem sites
What does the central Chemical Control of Respiration respond to?
- Changes in the hydrogen ion (H+) concentration in CSF, NOT arterial CO2 tension or pH
What affects central Chemical Control of Respiration more?
- The central Chemical Control of Respiration is more profoundly affected by respiratory than by metabolic alterations in arterial carbon dioxide tension.
Where is the peripheral Chemical Control of Respiration located?
- Carotid bodies
What does the peripheral Chemical Control of Respiration respond to?
- Changes in arterial CO2 tension, pH, and arterial oxygen tension
In the post-operative phase, volatile anesthetics affect CO2 response curves in what way?
- All volatile anesthetics depress the ventilatory response to hypercapnia in a dose-dependent fashion
What are the effects on CO2 response curves at less than 1 MAC of volatile anesthetics?
- At less than 1 MAC, volatile agents markedly attenuate or entirely eliminate hypercapnia-induced increases in ventilatory drive
What are the effects of volatile anesthetics on CO2 response curves at less than 0.2 MAC?
- At less than 0.2 MAC, volatile anesthetics may depress the peripheral chemoreflex loop and inhibit the ventilatory response to hypercapnia.
What effect do volatile agents have on the hypoxemia response?
- Volatile anesthetics and nitrous oxide attenuate the ventilatory response to hypoxia in a dose-dependent manner - at concentrations as low as 0.1 MAC
What is closing capacity?
- The lowest volume at which alveoli stay open and this is a function of the FRC
- As the FRC decreases, the closing volume increases and eventually overtakes the FRC so some alveoli never open - this leads to atelectasis
Upon induction, what happens to the diaphragm?
- It is shifted cephalad and decreases all lung volumes, especially the FRC
How does inhaled anesthetics and mechanical ventilation lead to altered blood gas homeostasis?
- Mechanical ventilation affects venous return to the right side of the heart
- Inhaled anesthetics are myocardial depressants
What can be caused by mechanical ventilation?
- Barotrauma - may not be noticed immediately under general anesthesia
How do inhaled anesthetics affect both central and peripheral respiratory drives?
- Inhaled anesthetics decrease the patients response to hypoxia and hypercarbia
All inhaled anesthetics cause respiratory depression in a dose dependent manner with an elevation in PaCO2 secondary to medullary depression. What does this lead to?
- Right shift of the CO2 response curve
What are the effects of inhaled anesthetics on bronchial smooth muscle?
- All inhaled anesthetics are bronchodilators and inhibit bronchoconstriction
- Can assist bronchodilation in the reactive airway by deepening anesthetic
What is the apneic threshold during spontaneous respiration is only …?
- 3-5 mmHg less than the PaCO2
How do all inhalation anesthetics blunt the hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstrictor response by…?
- Nonselective vasodilation of pulmonary vasculature