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Benzodiazepine, Opioid Analgesic, Used To Induce Anaesthesia, Halothane

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Posted on Wed, 16 May 2012
Question: what is the purpose of administering benzodiazepine and an opioid analgesic if halothane is able to induce anaesthesia?
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Answered by Dr. Deepak Anvekar (21 minutes later)
Hello,

Anesthesia is defined as Loss of feeling or awareness.

But during surgical procedures, surgeons prefer to have a patient not able to recollect anything about the procedure, not to feel any pain and also not be able to move any part of the body. This is defined as devoid of memory, complete analgesia and complete paralysis.

There is no single agent that can provide all the three requirements, as different agents have different physical and chemical properties and for different procedures the need for agents used differ.

Hence anesthetists use a combination of agents so that the best possible effect can be used so that the procedure can be sucessful without any adverse effects.

Halothane is a potent anesthetic and is used for induction and recovery of anaesthesia. If needed it can used for maintanance as well depending on the procedure and the duration for which anesthesia is needed.

But it does not have very good analgesic ability ( Is not a good agent to provide pain relief) - Hence a opiod analgesic is used in combination with Halothane.

In addition a a Benzodiazepine is used to provide complete muscle relaxation, since halothane is not efficient enough as a muscle relaxant to be used alone in major surgeries.

Hope I have answered your query.

I will be available to answer your follow up queries.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Deepak Anvekar

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2003

Answered : 336 Questions

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Benzodiazepine, Opioid Analgesic, Used To Induce Anaesthesia, Halothane

Hello,

Anesthesia is defined as Loss of feeling or awareness.

But during surgical procedures, surgeons prefer to have a patient not able to recollect anything about the procedure, not to feel any pain and also not be able to move any part of the body. This is defined as devoid of memory, complete analgesia and complete paralysis.

There is no single agent that can provide all the three requirements, as different agents have different physical and chemical properties and for different procedures the need for agents used differ.

Hence anesthetists use a combination of agents so that the best possible effect can be used so that the procedure can be sucessful without any adverse effects.

Halothane is a potent anesthetic and is used for induction and recovery of anaesthesia. If needed it can used for maintanance as well depending on the procedure and the duration for which anesthesia is needed.

But it does not have very good analgesic ability ( Is not a good agent to provide pain relief) - Hence a opiod analgesic is used in combination with Halothane.

In addition a a Benzodiazepine is used to provide complete muscle relaxation, since halothane is not efficient enough as a muscle relaxant to be used alone in major surgeries.

Hope I have answered your query.

I will be available to answer your follow up queries.