Intravenous anesthesia

Intravenous anesthesia is artificially induced by the introduction of narcotic drugs, the state of inhibition of the central nervous system, in which consciousness is turned off, skeletal muscles relax, some reflexes are weakened or turned off, and pain sensitivity is lost. Anesthesia is used for surgical interventions.

How does intravenous anesthesia work?

The main advantage of intravenous, in comparison with other types of general anesthesia, is its rapid action, practically without the stage of excitation. And also - a quick exit of the patient from the unconscious state.

On average, depending on the type of drug used, a single dose of medication provides up to 20 minutes of unconsciousness. Therefore, during long-term operations with the use of this type of anesthesia, a gradual introduction of narcotic drugs is carried out regularly to maintain the patient's condition.

Carrying out such anesthesia is a fairly simple procedure in technical terms, a fast and reliable effect is achieved. However, he does not give complete muscle relaxation, and the risk of overdose is higher compared with inhalation anesthesia. Therefore, in operations requiring prolonged anesthesia, intravenous is rarely used as mononarcosis (i.e., single). Typically, a combination of several types of anesthesia is used, where the intravenous is used as an introductory to bring the patient unconscious, bypassing the stage of arousal.

Indications and contraindications for intravenous anesthesia

Indications for the use of anesthesia can be any condition requiring emergency or planned surgical intervention. Preference for intravenous anesthesia is given in the case of operations that do not take much time.

Absolute contraindications to anesthesia in case of emergency emergency surgery is not. If the patient needs an operation to save life, it will be performed with the selection of the most sparing means and taking into account the peculiarities of his condition.

In the case of scheduled operations, contraindications to intravenous anesthesia are:

Also to each specific drug used for anesthesia, there is a list of contraindications.

Preparations for intravenous anesthesia

For intravenous anesthesia, barbiturates and their derivatives are used:

Let's consider their features:

  1. Barbiturates (sodium thiopental, hexanol, metahexitone). This type of drugs is used for basic anesthesia. Possible adverse effects include oppression of respiratory and cardiac activity.
  2. Ketamines. The advantage of these drugs is that they do not have an obvious inhibitory effect on the respiratory and cardiac systems, and therefore can be used for both introductory and basic anesthesia. When exiting anesthesia, patients may experience hallucinations, impaired coordination.
  3. Viadryl, propanidide, sodium oxybutyrate. Used mainly for introductory anesthesia, in combination with other means.

Effects of intravenous anesthesia

After exiting from anesthesia, patients can observe:

Such effects are usually temporary and last for 2-3 days.