Affiliation: | a Department of Anaesthesia, Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital-Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China b Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Chang-Gung Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China c Institute of Pharmacology, National Yang-Ming Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China |
Abstract: | Based on the tail-flick response to noxious thermal stimuli, we determined in the present study that effective antinociception could be achieved in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats 15 min after intravenous infusion of propofol at 60 mg/kg/h. Simultaneous power spectral analysis of the electroencephalographic (EEG) and systemic arterial pressure signals further revealed a concomitant depression of the activity of all EEG frequency bands (δ, θ, , β), alongside hypotension, negative inotropic and chronotropic actions, and attenuated baroreceptor reflex and vasomotor activity. These effects were congruent with a plasma concentration of propofol in the arterial blood of 1.70 ± 0.13 μg/ml, as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. |