Monitorización de la actividad cerebral: ¿Dónde estamos y hacia dónde debemos dirigirnos? / Monitoring brain activity: Where are we now and in which direction should we move in the future?

ABSTRACT

Anesthesiology is a medical specialty in which quantification-the capacity to measure-is of major importance. The basic principle of our interventions as anesthesiologists is based on the administration of drugs, the observation of the effect that these drugs have on the patient, and the adjustment of drug delivery depending on the response that is observed. The magnitude ofthis response depends on 1. Factors directly related to the patient such as their age, physical state, and the medication he/she is taking and, 2. Contextual factors such as the type of surgical procedure, its urgency, the point of time within the procedure, and the complications that can appear (bleeding, hypothermia, state of shock) to cite just a few of the most relevant aspects. Observing, adjusting, and magnitude-they are concepts that imply the possibility of measuring to precisely evaluate how the patient reacts in each and every moment of anesthetic drug delivery process.