Electroencephalographic Monitoring During Anesthesia

Abstract

Information about actual cerebral function through continuous EEG monitoring facilitates a precise, individually controlled depth of anesthesia. It also indicates dangers or impairments to the cerebrum due to surgical or anesthesiological distress. As an early, and frequently the only, warning symptom, it can enable either a diagnosis to be made in good time, with the possible avoidance of cerebral oxygen deficiency, or it can be of help in the carrying out of an appropriate therapy. EEG monitoring, therefore, has advantages both for the patient with a limited cerebral compensatory reserve and for patients undergoing extensive surgery. Knowledge of the drug-induced alterations is again required for safely evaluating sudden EEG changes. Cumulative effects of narcotics, inevitable during long surgery, involve additional deviations from the normal EEG pattern, which have to be taken into account.