[The EEG in anesthesia and intensive care monitoring]

Electroencephalographic monitoring during anaesthesia and during intensive therapy has definite advantages. It aids the individual regulation and assessment of general anaesthesiological measures, and signals cerebral insufficiency in the patient under treatment. Examples illustrating initial cerebral states and characteristic changes of cerebral function related to anaesthesia in general, to various forms of anaesthesia as well as to the depth of anaesthesia, are presented. Other examples illustrate the significance of this method in interpreting the actual state of cerebral function during the course of intensive treatment. Possibilities of performing electroencephalographic registration during routine anaesthesiological procedures are discussed.