Lower esophageal contractility: a technique for measuring depth of anesthesia.
Until recently, there has been no simple, accurate, reliable technique for monitoring depth of anesthesia during surgery. A system that measures lower esophageal contractility (LEC) has been designed for this purpose. The system consists of a monitor and a disposable esophageal probe equipped with provoking and measuring balloons. Since the motor control of the esophagus is directly controlled by the brain stem, LEC was postulated to be a reflection of the anesthetic state of the patient. Multiple-center clinical studies have shown that LEC correlates significantly (p less than 0.005) with concentrations of volatile anesthetic agents and patient responses to surgical stimulation. Closed-loop anesthetic techniques have been developed at several institutions based on LEC and hemodynamic parameters. Lower esophageal contractility has been shown to be an accurate monitor of anesthetic depth for a variety of surgical procedures and anesthetic techniques.
Kuni
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American Antec Inc., Valencia, California 91355.
Silvay
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D000758:Anesthesia; D004947:Esophagus / Q000502:physiology*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D010528:Peristalsis; D012449:Safety