General anesthesia for whole-body hyperthermia
Cronau, L.H.; Bourke, D.L.; Bull, J.M.
Cancer Research 44(10 Suppl): 4873s-4877s
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0008-5472 PMID: 6467240 Document Number: 237417
General anesthesia was used to facilitate 259 whole-body hyperthermia treatments in 90 patients. These patients fell into American Society of Anesthesiologists Classifications 3 (moderate to severe systemic disease) and 4 (severe systemic disease with life-threatening potential). Whole-body hyperthermia imposes severe stress on cardiopulmonary and renal function. In this series, elevation of temperature from 38 degrees to 41.5 degrees raised cardiac output to approximately 200% of control, while oxygen consumption rose 35%. General anesthesia provides conditions which allow for more precise control and support of vital signs, fluid requirements, and blood gases.