It is illegal to use a neuromuscular blocking agent for painful procedures, unless anesthetics or analgesic drugs are used in conjunction. General Anesthesia General anesthesia provides overall insensitivity and unconsciousness. Inhalation anesthetics are gaseous or volatile agents administered via the respiratory tract. Inhalation anesthetics, when properly administered allow one to control and regulate anesthetic depth. Disadvantages include need for specialized delivery equipment and potential toxicosis to personnel chronically exposed to anesthetic vapors.
Endotracheal intubation facilitates effective and safe delivery of inhalation anesthetics.
A waste gas scavenging system should be used to minimize exposure to personnel. Injectable anesthetics can serve as the sole anesthetic agent, be used to induce anesthesia before inhalation anesthesia, or supplement regional anesthesia. They induce a dose-dependent spectrum of CNS depression, from sleep to deep general anesthesia. Higher doses may cause medullary paralysis, respiratory arrest and death. Dissociative drugs induce anesthesia, have short duration of action, a wide safety margin, and cause minimal cardiopulmonary depression.