What are the stages of general anesthesia?
Four stages of general anesthesia is classified by Guedel as: • Stage of analgesia • Stage of delirium • Stage of surgical anesthesia • Stage of respiratory paralysis Stage of analgesia, or stage I of anesthesia, is characterized by the patient consciousness and his or her ability to response to command and may or may not become amnesic. It begins with the inital admininistration of CNS depressant drug and continues until the patient loses consciousness. In this stage, pain and pain threshold may be present and unaltered, however, the patient’s response is diminished. All the techniques of oral, rectal, intramuscular, submucosal, inhalation, and intravenous sedation, results in a patient in stage I, i.e., stage of analgesia. Stage II, or stage of delirium or excitement, begins with the patient lose consciousness from stage I. Early in stage II, the breathing patern may become irregular, reflexes may be exaggerated and there is a tendency to overreact to stimulation. In response to stim
