The formation of trifluoroacetic acid (TFAA) from halothane under aerobic conditions and that of chlorotrifluoroethane (CTE) and chlorodifluoroethylene (CDE) from halothane under anaerobic conditions were studied using guinea pig liver microsomes. The formation of TFAA was inhibited by specific inhibitors of cytochrome P450 (P450), such as carbon monoxide and metyrapone and was dependent upon P...

We have studied 40 infants with a post-conceptual age of less than 60 weeks undergoing general anaesthesia for herniotomy. Patients were anaesthetized with 1 MAC equivalent values for age and agent and allocated randomly to receive halothane, savoflurane or thiopental for induction, and halothane, sevoflurane or desflurane for maintenance of anaesthesia. At induction, both time to acceptance of...

BACKGROUND The cardiovascular effects of halogenated anesthetic agents in children with normal hearts have been studied, but data in children with cardiac disease are limited. This study compared the effects of halothane, isoflurane, sevoflurane, and fentanyl-midazolam on systemic and pulmonary hemodynamics and myocardial contractility in patients with congenital heart disease. METHODS Fifty-...

In two groups of dogs, the uptake and elimination of halothane and isoflurane were studied using a closed-loop anaesthetic system which automatically controlled end-tidal halothane and isoflurane partial pressures at equi-MAC concentrations. Haemodynamic and respiratory variables were recorded and the anaesthetic partial pressures were measured in the inspired and expired air, as well as in the...

Qualitatively different responses of ADP levels have previously been observed in the brain during hypercarbia. One investigation has found that cerebral ADP stayed constant during hypercarbia in rats that were anesthetized with halothane, while another observed that ADP decreased during supercarbia in rats that received no supplemental anesthesia. This article reports an in vivo 31P nuclear mag...

The anaesthetic agent halothane is still widely used in developing countries including the Islamic Republic of Iran because of its low price. Because of halothane-induced hepatitis, a rare complication, it has been replaced by other inhalation anaesthetics in Western countries; it has been suggested by some Iranian professionals that the Islamic Republic of Iran should do the same. We evaluated...

Halothane and isoflurane, in the peri-minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration (MAC) range, exert differential effects on spinal nociceptive neurons, whereby halothane further depresses their responses from 0.8 to 1.2 MAC, whereas isoflurane does not. We presently investigated if these anesthetics differentially affect windup, the progressive increase in neuronal responses to repetitive noxiou...

Permanent neurobehavioral toxicological effects have been theorized to occur at the lowest doses of a toxic agent if exposure occurs during early development compared to exposure during adulthood. Data are reviewed showing the exposure to 10 ppm of halothane from conception to day 60 of life post-partum led to adult rats (>/= 135 days of age) which were hyperalgesic to electric footshock and wh...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of halothane and sevoflurane on the magnitude of the increase in intracellular calcium with hypoxia in carotid body type I (glomus) cells. We wished to ascertain if the effects of these agents in single cells paralleled their known effects on the human hypoxic ventilatory response, where halothane depresses this response more t...

During inhalational anesthesia, halogenated gases are in direct contact with the alveolar epithelium, in which they may affect transepithelial ion and fluid transport. The effects of halogenated gases in vivo on epithelial Na+ and K+ channels, which participate in alveolar liquid clearance, remain unclear. In the present study, the effects of halothane (1, 2, and 4% atm) on ion-channel function...