Anesthetic adequacy, surface EMG and quantitated EEG

Comparison of spontaneous frontal EMG, EEG power spectrum and bispectral index to monitor propofol drug effect and emergence

“…Due to great interindividual variability in the amplitude of the SEMG, this technique has not gained wide clinical acceptance. Nevertheless, some successful applications of the SEMG on the detection of arousal during anaesthesia have been published (5,7) and a new revival of the application of this technique can be found in recent literature (8). To date, insufficient research has been performed and further studies will be required to determine the utility of SEMG as a monitor of adequate anaesthesia and hypnotic drug effect.…”

“…An additional problem when studying the changes in different computerized neurophysiological variables is caused by the difference in units of measurement. Therefore, a decibel (dB) transformation of the various measures is useful to facilitate the plotting of the results by providing a uniform scale and eliminating the confounding effects of different frequency distributions (5,7). To the best of our knowledge, a comparative study of the accuracy of the chosen neurophysiological measures in monitoring different anaesthetic states, hypnotic drug effect and accuracy of these different variables to monitor loss of consciousness and emergence, using a dB transformation, has not been reported previously.…”

EEG arousal during laryngoscopy and intubation: comparison of thiopentone or propofol supplemented with nitrous oxide

“…Detection and assessment of nociception represents one of the present challenges in anaesthetic practice. The most reliable sign, somatic movement, is abolished by neuromuscular block [1]. Other clinical signs of nociception during general anaesthesia such as haemodynamic or autonomic reactions are nonspecific, often occurring late and are difficult to interpret [2,3].…”