Toxicity of inhaled agents after prolonged administration.
Inhaled anesthetics have been utilized mostly for general anesthesia in the operating room and oftentimes for sedation and for treatment of refractory status epilepticus and status asthmaticus in the intensive care unit. These contexts in the ICU setting are related to potential for prolonged administration wherein potential organ toxicity is a concern. Over the last decade, several clinical and animal studies of neurotoxicity attributable to inhaled anesthetics have been emerging, particularly in extremes of age. This review overviews potential for and potential mechanisms of neurotoxicity and systemic toxicity of prolonged inhaled anesthesia and clinical scenarios where inhaled anesthesia has been used in order to assess safety of possible prolonged use for sedation. High dose inhaled agents are associated with postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) and other situations. However, thus far no strong indication of problematic neuro or organ toxicity has been demonstrated after prolonged use of low dose volatile anesthesia.
['Manatpon|Panumart|P|', 'Kofke|W Andrew|WA|']
D000769:Anesthesia, Inhalation D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation D000818:Animals D002490:Central Nervous System D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction D003422:Critical Care D054810:Deep Sedation D006801:Humans D007249:Inflammation D007362:Intensive Care Units D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes D011183:Postoperative Complications D013224:Status Asthmaticus D013226:Status Epilepticus
Inhaled agents Sedation ICU Neurotoxicity Critical care Volatile anesthetics