Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 12, 2025

Assessing Changes in Volatile General Anesthetic Sensitivity of Mice after Local or Systemic Pharmacological Intervention
Published on: October 16, 2013
Multipoint transcutaneous electrical stimulation reduces median effective plasma concentration of propofol: A
Zhang Jing1, Yu Ling1, Feng Yi1
1Department of Anaesthesiology, Peking University People's Hospital (Beijing Cancer Hospital), Beijing, China.
Background And Aims:
Previous work shows that transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TES) has analgesic and sedative effects. However, it is unclear whether TES can affect the sedative effect of propofol or not. This study was designed to assess the effect of TES on median effective plasma concentration (Cp50) of propofol and haemodynamic changes before and after tracheal intubation.
Methods:
48 patients belonging to ASA I or II posted for thyroidectomy were randomly allocated into control and TES groups. Up-and-down method was used to determine Cp50 of propofol. The average concentration of propofol in each crossover was calculated and the average concentration of those six values was defined as Cp50 of propofol.
Results:
Cp50 of propofol was 3.70 ± 0.28 μg/mL and 3.08 ± 0.31 μg/mL in control and TES groups, respectively (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in MAP (90.3 ± 12.4 mmHg vs. 97.0 ± 10.8 mmHg, 94.2 ± 18.7 mmHg vs. 98.3 ± 16.6 mmHg and 84.9 ± 14.1 mmHg vs. 91.6 ± 16.2 mmHg) and HR (78.2 ± 11.3 b/min vs. 75.6 ± 9.5 b/min, 90.9 ± 15.4 b/min vs. 90.4 ± 14.9 b/min and 86.7 ± 13.7 b/min vs. 84.0 ± 15.9 b/min) at T0, T1 and T2 between two groups. In TES group, HR changes at T1 and T2 were significantly higher than those at T0.
Conclusion:
TES can make an assistant effect on sedation and decrease Cp50 of propofol. But the haemodynamic fluctuations in TES group, especially the HR changes, seem to be more obvious than those in control group.
More Related Videos
14:52Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers
Published on: January 13, 2018
08:16Optogenetic Activation of Afferent Pathways in Brain Slices and Modulation of Responses by Volatile Anesthetics
Published on: July 23, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview
Depolarizing Blockers: Pharmocokinetics
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Epidural Anesthesia
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...
Depolarizing Blockers: Mechanism of Action
Succinylcholine is the most commonly used depolarizing blocker. Chemically, it constitutes two molecules of acetylcholine joined together by an acetate methyl group. They act on the receptors in the same way as acetylcholine. Because...
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Intravenous Regional Anesthesia
One of the advantages of...
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia