A Retrospective Analysis of a Remifentanil/Propofol General Anesthetic for Craniotomy Before Awake Functional Brain Mapping

Abstract

5, 0.05–0.09 μg · kg−1 · min−1 and propofol 115, 100–150 μg · kg−1 · min−1. The infusions lasted for 78, 58-98 min. Intraoperative emergence from general anesthesia was 9 (6–13) min after discontinuing IV infusions to allow for brain mapping and was independent of infusion duration and duration of craniotomy before mapping. Spontaneous ventilation was generally satisfactory during drug infusion, as evidenced by Sao2 = 95% (92%–98%) and Paco2 = 50 (47–55) mm Hg. However, we recorded at least one 30-s epoch of apnea in 69 of 96 patients. Maximum systolic arterial blood pressure was 150 (139–175) mm Hg and minimal systolic arterial blood pressure was 100 (70–150) mm Hg during drug infusion. Three patients experienced intraoperative seizures. Two patients did not tolerate the awake state and required reinduction of general anesthesia. No patients required endotracheal intubation or discontinuation of surgery. This general anesthetic technique is effective for craniotomy with awake functional brain mapping and offers an alternative to continuous wakefulness or other IV sedation techniques....