NEUROSCIENCES AND NEUROANAESTHESIA Changes in axonal excitability of primary sensory afferents with general anaesthesia in humans

Key points † Intraoperative neuromonitoring can be affected by specific general anaesthetics. † Changes in axonal excitability of primary sensory afferents with propofol and sevoflurane were investigated using threshold tracking technique. † Both anaesthetics similarly affected nerve excitability to a small but significant extent. † Possible mechanisms include direct anaesthetic effects on neuronal excitability and temperature change due to vasodilation. Background. Intraoperative monitoring of neuronal function is important in a variety of surgeries. The type of general anaesthetic used can affect the interpretation and quality of such recordings. Although the principal effects of general anaesthetics are synaptically mediated, the extent to which they affect excitability of the peripheral afferent nervous system is unclear.