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To induce general anesthesia, propofol is the drug used almost exclusively, having largely replaced sodium thiopental. [13]It is often administered as part of an anesthesia maintenance technique called total intravenous anesthesia, using either manually programmed infusion pumps or computer-controlled infusion pumps in a process called target controlled infusion (TCI).
Context-sensitive half-life or context sensitive half-time is defined as the time taken for blood plasma concentration of a drug to decline by one half after an infusion designed to maintain a steady state (i.e. a constant plasma concentration) has been stopped. The "context" is the duration of infusion.
Total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) refers to the intravenous administration of anesthetic agents to induce a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. The first study of TIVA was done in 1872 using chloral hydrate , [ 1 ] and the common anesthetic agent propofol was licensed in 1986.
Sodium thiopental is an ultra-short-acting barbiturate and has been used commonly in the induction phase of general anesthesia.Its use has been largely replaced with that of propofol, but may retain some popularity as an induction agent for rapid-sequence induction and intubation, such as in obstetrics. [12]
An equianalgesic chart can be a useful tool, but the user must take care to correct for all relevant variables such as route of administration, cross tolerance, half-life and the bioavailability of a drug. [5] For example, the narcotic levorphanol is 4–8 times stronger than morphine, but also has a much longer half-life. Simply switching the ...
General anesthesia drugs such as midazolam, ketamine, propofol and fentanyl are used to put a person in a twilight state or render them completely unconscious and unaware of pain. Dentists who have completed a training program in anesthesiology may also administer general IV and inhalation anesthetic agents.
General anaesthetics (or anesthetics) are often defined as compounds that induce a loss of consciousness in humans or loss of righting reflex in animals. Clinical definitions are also extended to include an induced coma that causes lack of awareness to painful stimuli, sufficient to facilitate surgical applications in clinical and veterinary practice.
Remifentanil's short context-sensitive half-life makes it ideal for intense pain of short duration. As such, it has been used for analgesia in labor successfully; however, it is not as effective as epidural analgesia. [10] In combination with propofol, remifentanil is used for anesthesia of patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy. [11]