What is balanced anesthesia?

What is balanced anesthesia? Opioids/NSAID’s would be given to? Antiemetics would be given to?
Benzodiazepines/Barbiturates would be given to?
Anticholinergic (prototype atropine) would be given to?

Inhaled anesthesia is the main focus of the chapter,

How do they work?
What are the major adverse effects?  You need to know what to be concerned about when the post-op patient returns to their room after receiving an inhaled anesthetic.

Neuromuscular blocking agents
What are they and why are they used?
What are the side effects?
What do they do and not do?
Many students believe this is also an anesthetic-it is NOT
Acetylcholine has to attach to the nicotinic m receptor on skeletal muscle to cause muscle contraction.  If it does not, then the muscle becomes flaccid (paralyzed)

These drugs do NOT cross into the brain and have no effect on the level of consciousness—if this is the only drug on board, the patient can hear everything, but cannot move, speak, blink, because the person is paralyzed.

Review both depolarizing and non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents to understand the differences.  End result is flaccid paralysis.

Your patient has received a neuromuscular blocking agent during surgery and is now post-operative.  What are the nurse’s priority concerns?

What is malignant hyperthermia?
What are the risk factors for developing it?
What are the symptoms?
What is the treatment