BACKGROUND Sevoflurane may induce epileptiform electroencephalographic activity leading to unstable Bispectral Index numbers, underestimating the hypnotic depth of anesthesia. The authors developed a method for the quantification of epileptiform electroencephalographic activity during sevoflurane anesthesia. METHODS Electroencephalographic data from 60 patients under sevoflurane mask inductio...

Background: Foreign body aspiration may be a life-threatening emergency in children requiring immediate bronchoscopy under general anesthesia. Both controlled and spontaneous ventilation techniques have been used during anesthesia for bronchoscopic foreign body removal. There is no prospective study in the literature comparing these two techniques. This prospective randomized clinical trial was...

BACKGROUND Foreign body aspiration may be a life-threatening emergency in children requiring immediate bronchoscopy under general anesthesia. Both controlled and spontaneous ventilation techniques have been used during anesthesia for bronchoscopic foreign body removal. There is no prospective study in the literature comparing these two techniques. This prospective randomized clinical trial was ...

BACKGROUND For decades, monitoring depth of anesthesia was mainly based on unspecific effects of anesthetics, for example, blood pressure, heart rate, or drug concentrations. Today, electroencephalogram-based monitors promise a more specific assessment of the brain function. To date, most approaches were focused on a "head-to-head" comparison of either electroencephalogram- or standard paramete...

Trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR) is defined as sudden onset of parasympathetic dysrhythmia including hypotension, apnea, and gastric hypermotility during stimulation of any branches of the trigeminal nerve. Previous publications imply a relation between TCR and depth of anesthesia. To gain more detailed insights into this hypothesis, we performed a systematic literature review.Literature about occ...

BACKGROUND Propofol is reported to reduce both sympathetic and parasympathetic tone; however, it is not clear whether the changes in heart rate variability are associated with depth of anesthesia. The purposes of the present study were (1) to evaluate the changes in heart rate variability at different depths of hypnosis and (2) to compare the effects of propofol on heart rate variability with t...

BACKGROUND Bispectral index (BIS) monitoring reduces the cases of intraoperative awareness. Several factors can alter BIS readings without affecting the depth of anesthesia. We conducted a study to assess the impact of beach chair position (sitting position) on BIS readings. METHODS General anesthesia was administered to 30 patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Patients were kept...

BACKGROUND Many surgeries are performed under spinal anesthesia. Inexperienced practitioners may find it difficult to obtain subarachnoid access. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to examine the relationship between patients' anthropometric characteristics and depth of spinal needle insertion to the subarachnoid cavity. PATIENTS AND METHODS 385 patients with ASA class I - II, aged 18 - 65 years a...