Monitoring for depth of anesthesia: a review

Abstract

Monitoring depth of anesthesia is a newer advance in the monitoring of anesthesia. Accurate assessment of the depth of anesthesia contributes to tailoring drug administration to the individual patient. Its increasing use may help to prevent awareness or excessive anesthetic depth and to improve the patients’ outcomes. Awareness experiences frighten the patients and can leave a lifetime of residual emotional and psychological problems. To date, no monitoring system has been found to measure the depth of anesthesia reliably for all patients and all anesthetic agents. In this review, the author critically analyzes the use of a number of the depth of anesthesia monitors including the traditional techniques and the modern techniques.