Washout times of desflurane, sevoflurane and isoflurane from the GE Healthcare Aisys® and Avance®, Carestation®, and Aestiva® anesthesia system

Neural Correlates of Consciousness at Near-Electrocerebral Silence in an Asphyxial Cardiac Arrest Model

Recent electrophysiological studies have suggested surges in electrical correlates of consciousness (i.e., elevated gamma power and connectivity) after cardiac arrest (CA). This study examines electrocorticogram (ECoG) activity and coherence of the dying brain during asphyxial CA. Male Wistar rats (n = 16) were induced with isoflurane anesthesia, which was washed out before asphyxial CA. Mean phase coherence and ECoG power were compared during different stages of the asphyxial period to assess potential neural correlates of consciousness. After asphyxia, the ECoG progressed through four distinct stages (asphyxial stages 1-4 [AS1-4]), including a transient period of near-electrocerebral silence lasting several seconds (AS3). Electrocerebral silence (AS4) occurred within 1 min of the start of asphyxia, and pulseless electrical activity followed the start of AS4 by 1-2 min. AS3 was linked to a significant increase in frontal coherence between the left and right motor cortices (p < 0.05), with no corresponding increase in ECoG power. AS3 was also associated with a significant posterior shift of ECoG power, favoring the visual cortices (p < 0.05). Although the ECoG during AS3 appears visually flat or silent when viewed with standard clinical settings, our study suggests that this period of transient near-electrocerebral silence contains distinctive neural activity. Specifically, the burst in frontal coherence and posterior shift of ECoG power that we find during this period immediately preceding CA may be a neural correlate of conscious processing.

Management of malignant hyperthermia: diagnosis and treatment

Malignant hyperthermia is a potentially lethal inherited disorder characterized by disturbance of calcium homeostasis in skeletal muscle. Volatile anesthetics and/or the depolarizing muscle relaxant succinylcholine may induce this hypermetabolic muscular syndrome due to uncontrolled sarcoplasmic calcium release via functionally altered calcium release receptors, resulting in hypoxemia, hypercapnia, tachycardia, muscular rigidity, acidosis, hyperkalemia, and hyperthermia in susceptible individuals. Since the clinical presentation of malignant hyperthermia is highly variable, survival of affected patients depends largely on early recognition of the symptoms characteristic of malignant hyperthermia, and immediate action on the part of the attending anesthesiologist. Clinical symptoms of malignant hyperthermia, diagnostic criteria, and current therapeutic guidelines, as well as adequate management of anesthesia in patients susceptible to malignant hyperthermia, are discussed in this review.