Anaesthesia and intensive care
-
Anaesth Intensive Care · Aug 1996
Comparative StudyBrain and blood concentrations of propofol after rapid intravenous injection in sheep, and their relationships to cerebral effects.
The time-course of propofol concentrations in the blood and brain following rapid administration of three doses were examined using a sheep preparation and regional pharmacokinetic techniques. These were compared to the time-course of cerebral effects of propofol reported previously. ⋯ There was evidence that the effect of propofol on cerebral blood flow altered its own rate of elution from the brain. Hysteresis between arterial propofol concentrations and cerebral effects following rapid i.v. administration therefore appears to have a pharmacokinetic basis, and conventional compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis using blood concentrations alone may fail to accurately predict the time-course of both brain propofol concentrations and depth of anaesthesia.