Pharmacology of Non-opioid Intravenous Anesthetics

The progress in surgery would have been impossible if not coupled with progress and development of anesthetic techniques. The introduction and development of new sedativeSedative hypnoticsHypnotics is the corner stone in this progress. BarbituratesBarbiturates once were the most commonly used induction agents for general anesthesiaAnesthesia but now are replaced with propofol. Nowadays, propofolPropofol is widely utilized in the operating roomsOperating room as a hypnotic for induction of general anesthesia, maintenance of general anesthesia in totalIntravenous intravenous anesthetic technique (TIVA), sedative during surgery and invasive procedures. In intensive care units (ICU), propofol complemented opioidsOpioids and benzodiazepinesBenzodiazepines for sedationSedation. KetamineKetamine is of great benefit in induction of general anesthesia in asthmatic patients, and utilizing ketamine for its analgesic properties has been revived. EtomidateEtomidate is unmatched in its lack of hemodynamic depressant effects, rendering it the most appropriate agent to induce general anesthesia in patients with hemodynamic instability. DexmedetomidineDexmedetomidine although not used as a general anesthesiaAnesthesia induction agent but is a valuable sedative in the ICU and for procedures were respiratory depression is not tolerated with the added value of decreasing the anesthetic requirements. It is a never stopping effort in progress to provide us with sedative-hypnotics that lack the side effectsSide effects of the currently available ones.