Response entropy increases during painful stimulation

Frontal electromyography (FEMG) may increase during painful stimulation and indicate patient arousal. The Datex-Ohmeda Entropy Module calculates state entropy (SE) of the electroencephalogram (EEG; 0.8-32 Hz) and response entropy (RE) of EEG and FEMG (0.8-47 Hz). We determined whether RE increases above SE (RE--SE), an indication of FEMG, increase during painful stimuli and if this is related to paralysis or level of anesthesia. With the unanesthetized baseline measurement, SE was 89 +/- 2 and RE was 98 +/- 2. During paralysis and anesthesia with either 0.8% (n = 10) or 1.4% (n = 10) isoflurane, SE decreased to 63 +/- 7 and 34 +/- 14, respectively, and the RE--SE difference decreased 90%. Before recovery from paralysis, arterial catheter or head pin placement increased RE--SE above unanesthetized levels in eight patients (five treated with 0.8% and three with 1.4% isoflurane), consistent with an increase in FEMG. The elevated RE--SE difference was related to a significant increase in SE, blood pressure, and heart rate. After recovery from paralysis, tetanic stimulation of the ulnar nerve increased the RE--SE difference above unanesthetized levels in 8 of 20 patients (6 treated with 0.8% and 2 with 1.4% isoflurane). In these patients, SE increased significantly. The remaining 12 patients did not show an increase in RE--SE during tetanic stimulation and SE did not increase. We conclude that increased RE during painful stimulation was not dependent on recovery from paralysis but was seen more often in patients anesthetized with 0.8% compared with 1.4% isoflurane. This suggests that RE reflects FEMG and may be useful to identify inadequate anesthesia and patient arousal during painful stimuli.