Modern Anesthetics (Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology)

Modern Anesthetics (Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology)

Autores: Jürgen Schüttler, Helmut Schwilden

Editora: Springer

Edição: 2008-02-06

Some important constraints of anesthesia must be taken into consideration when the pharmacological properties of modern anesthetics are discussed. The most important of these could be that the target effect be achieved preferably within seconds, at most within a few minutes. Similarly, offset of drug action should be achieved within minutes rather hours. The target effects, such as unconsciousness, are potentially life-threatening, as are the side effects of modern anesthetics, such as respiratory and cardiovascular depression. Finally, the patient’s purposeful responses are not available to guide drug dosage, because, either the patient is unconscious, or more problematically, the patient is aware but unable to communicate pain because of neuromuscular blockade