Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
General anesthesia is usually considered safe; however, there are reported cases of patients with distortion of taste and/or smell due to local anesthetics, stroke, nerve damage, or as a side effect of general anesthesia. [46] [47] At the end of surgery, administration of anaesthetic agents is discontinued.
Partly because of its side effects, enflurane never gained widespread popularity. [10] In theory, any inhaled anesthetic agent can be used for induction of general anesthesia. However, most of the halogenated anesthetics are irritating to the airway, perhaps leading to coughing, laryngospasm and overall difficult inductions.
When eyes are untaped during general anaesthesia, the incidence of ocular injury has been reported to be as high as 44%. [1] [2] If tape is used to hold the eyes closed, ocular injury occurs during 0.1-0.5% of general anaesthetics, and is usually corneal in nature. [3] [4]
Halothane, sold under the brand name Fluothane among others, is a general anaesthetic. [5] It can be used to induce or maintain anaesthesia. [5] One of its benefits is that it does not increase the production of saliva, which can be particularly useful in those who are difficult to intubate. [5]
Anesthesia is a combination of the endpoints (discussed above) that are reached by drugs acting on different but overlapping sites in the central nervous system. General anesthesia (as opposed to sedation or regional anesthesia) has three main goals: lack of movement , unconsciousness, and blunting of the stress response. In the early days of ...
Amnesia may be therapeutic for medical treatment or for medical procedures, or it may be a side-effect of a drug, such as alcohol, or certain medications for psychiatric disorders, such as benzodiazepines. [1] It is seen also with slow acting parenteral general anaesthetics. [citation needed]
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]