Nociception Monitoring

Abstract

Tissue damage and inflammation-induced nociception during surgery are the primary reasons for administering general anesthesia to the patient. During general anesthesia, analgesics inhibit autonomic and somatic responses, hypnotic agents prevent awareness, and neuromuscular blocking agents inhibit reflex movements. Careful monitoring of the effects of general anesthesia is necessary to avoid over- or under-dosing of anesthetics and thus to prevent associated complications and adverse effects. In general, hemodynamic parameters have been used to guide the intraoperative administration of analgesics such as opioids, but hemodynamic parameters are not standardized and cannot always provide a clear assessment. There is growing interest in techniques that can objectively monitor the analgesic component of anesthesia to achieve an appropriate balance of nociception and anti-nociception and to guide analgesic administration. The purpose of this review is to provide information about nociception monitoring techniques, which are increasingly used in clinical practice. Keywords: General anesthesia, nociception, anti-nociception, monitoring