Abstract
Aims: It is generally accepted that geriatric patients are more
sensitive to propofol than adults; thus, a dose-adjusted propofol is
recommended for these patients during the induction of anesthesia.
However, for patients aged 75 years and over, established guidelines do
not provide dose references for the anesthesiologists. To this end, we
observed 80 surgical patients (female 39, male 41, American Society of
Anesthesiologists physical status score Ⅰ ~ Ⅱ) to access
the appropriate dose of propofol for inducing loss of consciousness
(LOC).
Methods: Patients were subdivided into group A (20 patients,
45~64 yr), group B (20 patients, 65~74
yr), group C (20 patients, 75~84 yr), and group D (20
patients, ≥ 85 yr). All patients received propofol (at a rate of 0.3
mg/kg/min) alone for inducing LOC, which was defined by loss of both
eyelash reflex and verbal response.
Results: Compared with group A, the propofol requirement for
LOC in Group B, C and D decreased by 14.8%, 25.2% and 38.5%,
respectively. Bivariate linear correlation analysis showed that propofol
requirement was negatively correlated with age. After adjusting for
potential confounders, age was still an independent factor affecting
propofol requirement.
Conclusion: The propofol requirement for inducing LOC decreased
significantly in elderly patients. We demonstrated that age was an
independent factor impacting propofol requirement for LOC during the
induction of general anesthesia, implying that the propofol dose for
anesthesia induction should be further reduced in elderly surgical
patients, especially those aged 75 years and over.