Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 12, 39-66, Copyright © 1965 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

Neuroleptanalgesics: 2. Laboratory Evaluation of Combination of Analgesics and Neuroleptics with Nitrous Oxide

¹ Department of Anesthesiology, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, New York, 13210

Mixtures of several analgesic and neuroleptic drugs were devised and used in sufficient dosage to provide smooth anaesthesia in dogs. The response of the cardiorespiratory system, metabolic reactions, and postanaesthetic recovery were compared from recordings of the vital signs, blood analyses, and direct observation. These data show that the mixtures of anileridine-thiopental (1:10), fentanyl-droperidol (1:50), fentanyl-thiopental (1:1000), meperidine-thiopental (1:4), pentazocine-thiopental (1:33), and methotrimeprazine-thiopental (1:40) provide satisfactory anaesthetic conditions; when used along with the inhalation of nitrous oxide and oxygen, and pulmonary ventilation is controlled during the period of anaesthesia. The thiopental-d'tubocurarine mixture would have been included if it had not caused severe post-anaesthetic respiratory depression. It is suggested that similar conditions may be reproduced clinically with all of these mixtures, but there are two major disadvantages to using such an anaesthetic technique: controllability is difficult to maintain and delayed reactions may be highly undesirable.

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Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Anaesthetists' Society at Montebello, Quebec, Canada, in May 1964.