European journal of anaesthesiology. Supplement
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Eur J Anaesthesiol Suppl · May 1997
Target-controlled anaesthesia: concepts and first clinical experiences.
Propofol has a favourable pharmacokinetic profile for total intravenous anaesthesia and several manual infusion schemes have been proposed to maintain a constant blood concentration during anaesthesia. However, such schemes cannot respond predictably to changing surgical and anaesthetic requirements. A pharmacokinetic model for propofol has been incorporated into a target-controlled infusion system. ⋯ There is no single blood concentration of an anaesthetic agent which will result in satisfactory anaesthesia for all patients and all surgical conditions. It is necessary to titrate the target concentration against each patient's clinical response. Target-controlled systems provide the best estimate of the blood concentration at any time and permit the required target concentration to be achieved as accurately and as rapidly as possible.
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Adequate treatment of pain in ICU patients should be an integral part of ICU management, as inadequately treated pain leads to a series of complications that may counteract the success of ICU treatment. For continuous intravenous use we recommend sufentanil in a dose of 0.75-1.0 microgram kg-1 h-1 in mechanically ventilated patients and in a dose of 0.25-0.35 microgram kg-1 h-1 in intubated and spontaneously breathing patients. ⋯ Patients with trauma to the thorax, pelvic fracture, or after major surgical interventions will be better managed by regional application of analgesic drugs alone or in combination with a systemic analgesic drug infusion. To achieve the best results it is necessary to be well informed and trained in the method, to know the advantages and disadvantages, the correct and modified dosages of the drugs used, and the indications and contraindications.