Clinical significance of thiopentone binding to haemoglobin and plasma protein

Abstract

The minimum dose of thiopentone required to induce anaesthesia was determined bygiving thiopentone incrementally until verbal counting and eyelash reflexes wereabolished. Males required 2.75 mg/kg (±0.11 SE) and females 2.16 mg/kg ( + 0.10 SE)to abolish verbal counting. Thiopentone requirement correlated positively with haemo-globin concentration (P<0.001) but not with plasma albumin, Ol globulin, total globulinor A/G ratio. The presence of sickle-cell haemoglobins did not influence thiopentonerequirements. It is suggested that this result may have clinical importance