Abstract
Anaesthetics which work by different mechanisms may have different patterns of effect. Measurement of these patterns thus may elucidate their mechanisms of action and allow therapeutic choices between the agents. We compared the effects of ethanol (approximately 80 mg per 100 ml), and different end-tidal concentrations of nitrous oxide (15% and 25%) and sevoflurane (0.3% and 0.5%) in volunteers. We measured speed and accuracy in psychomotor tests, reaction time and memory, touch and pain sensitivity to von Frey filaments, and subjective mood for a range of descriptors. All treatments caused the same degree of overall abnormal feelings, but sevoflurane caused more obtunding (subjective drowsiness, slow reaction times, and loss of memory function) and nitrous oxide was more analgesic. Ethanol caused a marked feeling of drunkenness, but little drowsiness or analgesia. In the same volunteer subjects, direct comparison of sub-anaesthetic doses of these agents showed a clear and characteristic pattern of effects. These support the possible mechanisms for these disparate agents and may help choose appropriate agents for specific desired anaesthetic outcomes such as sedation or analgesia.
References
Dec 1, 1991·British Journal of Pharmacology·A H Dickenson, A Dray
Mar 1, 1987·Neuroscience·R MagoulA Calas
Mar 1, 1988·Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia = Journal Canadien D'anesthésie·M S SchellerB L Partridge
Jul 1, 1982·Anesthesia and Analgesia·T F HornbeinK H Smith
Feb 1, 1995·Psychopharmacology·P J ArmstrongB Tiplady
Jul 1, 1995·British Journal of Anaesthesia·S Petersen-FelixA M Zbinden
Nov 1, 1994·Psychopharmacology·D FaganD B Scott
Nov 20, 1997·Anesthesiology·J L GalinkinJ P Zacny
Jan 10, 1998·British Journal of Anaesthesia·S IlkjaerJ B Dahl
Nov 4, 1998·Drug and Alcohol Dependence·J P ZacnyM Black
Mar 11, 1999·Anesthesia and Analgesia·M WakasugiY Ito
Apr 8, 1999·British Journal of Anaesthesia·S Petersen-FelixA M Zbinden
Jul 16, 1999·Neurochemistry International·D M Lovinger
Nov 24, 1999·Pain·J P ZacnyJ M Klafta
Oct 6, 2000·Anesthesiology·T Yamakura, R A Harris
Dec 13, 2000·Neuroscience·S PirkerG Sperk
Jul 13, 2001·Journal of Psychopharmacology·E CameronB Tiplady
Aug 17, 2001·Anesthesiology·A G StuckeE J Zuperku
Apr 12, 2003·Journal of Psychopharmacology·B TipladyG Drummond
Aug 23, 2003·Anesthesia and Analgesia·James M SonnerEdmond I Eger
Sep 10, 2003·Anesthesiology·Koichi Nishikawa, Neil L Harrison
Apr 17, 2004·Anesthesiology·Cecilia DawsonMervyn Maze
May 29, 2004·Trends in Neurosciences·Henry A LesterDennis A Dougherty
Jul 28, 2005·FASEB Journal : Official Publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology·Anja ZellerUwe Rudolph
Citations
Jul 15, 2009·British Journal of Anaesthesia·M CarronC Ori
Aug 31, 2012·British Journal of Anaesthesia·G B DrummondR R Kennedy
May 23, 2012·PloS One·Ting YangDaqing Ma
Dec 7, 2016·The Journal of Pain : Official Journal of the American Pain Society·Trevor ThompsonBrendon Stubbs
Jun 14, 2017·Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica·H-C KimK-H Lee
May 6, 2009·Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research·Elaina C HowardRueben A Gonzales
Sep 2, 2011·Journal of Anesthesia·Kalindi DeSousa, Mohamed Shaaban Ali
Sep 21, 2011·European Journal of Applied Physiology·Miroljub JakovljevićIgor B Mekjavic
Apr 17, 2012·Anesthesia and Analgesia·Gordon B DrummondR Ross Kennedy
Mar 20, 2010·Journal of Psychoactive Drugs·Eric L GarlandBrian E Perron
Feb 3, 2016·Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia = Journal Canadien D'anesthésie·Hyun-Chang KimHee-Pyoung Park
Apr 22, 2015·Saudi Journal of Ophthalmology : Official Journal of the Saudi Ophthalmological Society·Hatem A Tawfik, Mohsen Mostafa
Aug 26, 2020·Neurochemical Research·Daniela Silva SantosIraci L S Torres
Mar 1, 2017·Academic Forensic Pathology·David Dolinak