ABSTRACT
In clinical practice, drugs are often administered in combination to optimize the balance between their therapeutic and adverse effects. Ideally their interaction is synergistic (supra-additive) with respect to the desired effect and only additive or even antagonistic (infra-additive) with respect to their side effects. We studied depression of ventilation and the ventilatory response to hypoxia during combined sevoflurane and alfentanil administration [1] and depression of ventilation and the ventilatory response to hypercapnia during combined propofol and alfentanil administration [2]. To that end, we developed response surface models that capture the relationships between drug concentrations and resulting effects. In the following, we will focus on possible formulations of response surface models and on how to choose between competing models.
