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Stanford Health Care

The pharmacology of anesthetic drugs in elderly patients. Anesthesiology clinics of North America Shafer, S. L. 2000; 18 (1): 1-?

Abstract

Elderly patients are more sensitive to anesthetic drugs than younger patients. This increased sensitivity has a pharmacokinetic basis if the dose produces a higher drug concentration in an elderly patient than in a younger patient. The increased sensitivity has a pharmacodynamic basis if the same concentration produces a more profound drug effect in elderly patients. This article reviews the mechanisms of increased sensitivity of elderly patients to opioids, hypnotics, amnestica, and muscle relaxants.

View details for PubMedID 10934997