To avoid drug precipitation in the IV lines, it must not be coadministered with acidic solutions such as those containing opioids and muscle relaxants. B. Non-Barbiturate Hypnotics 1. Propofol appears as a milky white solution, nicknamed as the milk of anesthesia. Propofol has an identical action to thiopental with a rapid onset of induction and short duration of action. As a result, propofol has superseded thiopental as an induction agent.
Benzodiazepines produce amnesia without causing loss of consciousness.
The onset of action is much slower than with other anesthetic induction agents, therefore it is not used as an induction agent. Diazepam is given orally for premedication for anesthesia. Because the onset of action is slow and the metabolites are active, having a long half-time in the body, diazepam is not used as an induction agent but is useful in anesthesia as premedication. It can also be used as intraoperative sedation and with other drugs, as part of balanced anesthesia. Thus, ketamine produces pharmacological actions distinctly different from other IV anesthetics.