Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 7, 2026

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention
Published on: October 16, 2013
Intravenous hypnotic regimens in patients with liver disease; a review article
Hassan Soleimanpour1, Saeid Safari2, Farzad Rahmani3
1Cardiovascular Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Context:
The liver as an important organ in the body has many essential functions in physiological processes. One of the major activities of liver is drug metabolism. Hepatic dysfunction affecting hepatic physiological activities, especially drug metabolism can cause many problems during anesthesia and administration of different drugs to patients.
Evidence Acquisition:
Studies on hepatic disorders and hypnotic anesthetics prescribed in hepatic disorders were included in this review. For this purpose, reliable databases were used.
Results:
Anesthesia should be performed with caution in patients with hepatic dysfunction and drugs with long half-life should be avoided in these patients.
Conclusions:
A review of the literature on the use of hypnotic drugs in patients with liver dysfunction showed that some hypnotic drugs used during anesthesia could be safely used in patients with impaired liver function. In these patients, certain drugs should be used with caution.
Related Concept Videos
Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview
Sedatives and Hypnotics: Overview
Sedative-hypnotics are categorized into barbiturates, benzodiazepines (BZDs), and non-benzodiazepines or Z-drugs. These drugs work by suppressing central nervous system activity, and this suppression is dose-dependent. Older sedative medications, like barbiturates, follow a linear curve in...
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Barbiturates
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines work by enhancing the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. They bind to the GABAA receptor, increasing its affinity for GABA, which opens chloride...
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents
Melatonin congeners like ramelteon (Rozerem) and tasimelteon (Hetlioz) selectively bind to melatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2) and thus mimic the actions of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Tasimelteon is primarily used for non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, common in blind patients. They are also used to treat conditions like insomnia...
Esophageal Varices-II: Clinical Features and Management
In the initial assessment, a thorough review of the patient's medical history is vital to identify risk factors such as liver disease, alcohol abuse, or...

