ABSTRACT
Monitoring the central nervous system is an essential part of general anesthesia, but is commonly effected by direct clinical assessment with no special equipment or techniques or by monitoring of surrogate markers such as heart rate or blood pressure. The effects of anesthetic agents on the brain and spinal cord are usually evaluated to determine whether anesthesia is adequate for proposed diagnostic or therapeutic interventions. Additional monitoring may be needed in several situations, particularly when general anesthesia or coma limits full clinical evaluation of neurological function. This chapter addresses monitoring methods and techniques that are useful in the operating room or critical care unit when the functional integrity of structures and pathways in the central nervous system may be at risk. Monitors of function, pressure, flow, and metabolism are discussed.
