Pharmacology: RSM Nitrous Oxide Practical
Pharmacology: RSM Nitrous Oxide Practical
Pharmacology: RSM Nitrous Oxide Practical
Answer the following questions (do not exceed the space allocated):
General anaesthesia is used to put patient into a total unconsciousness while local
anaesthesia is for numbing certain area of body. Analgesia is used to relief pain.
2. Why, if nitrous oxide is never used as the sole anaesthetic during surgery, should it be
used at all?
Nitrous oxide has the most rapid onset of the inhalation agent because of its inert
properties and it is quickly removed from the body. It also has low potency.
3. Name two classes (or types) of analgesic drugs that are not anaesthetic in routine use
a) Opioids – Codeine
4 Suggest mechanisms and sites within the CNS by which nitrous oxide may cause
changes in the pain threshold and performance in digit copying and substitution tests
Nitrous oxide potentiate the action of GABA at GABAA. NMDA receptors are also an
5. Suggest reasons for the variations in the effects of (the same concentration) of nitrous
7. This practical required the consent of each volunteer to participate; state three
important ethical issues when acquiring volunteer consent.
(b) Individual is free to refuse to participate and withdraw from the research at any time.
Using the Class Results, complete the following Table for Pain Threshold data and
answer questions 8 –10. Include the table with your report
8. Is the pain threshold for the group of volunteers breathing 20% nitrous oxide
significantly different from the pain threshold of the group of subjects breathing room
air during the experimental period? (delete inappropriate option) YES using
UNPAIRED t-test analysis
t = 2.717 (enter your value), P = 0.0087(enter your value)
9. Is the pain threshold for the group of volunteers breathing 20% nitrous oxide
significantly different from the pain threshold of this group of subjects when breathing
room air during the control period? (delete inappropriate option) NO using
PAIRED t-test analysis
t = 0.9470 (enter your value), P = 0.3515 (enter your value)
10. Is the pain threshold for the group of volunteers breathing 40% nitrous oxide
significantly different from the pain threshold of the group of subjects breathing room
air during the experimental period? (delete inappropriate option) YES using
UNPAIRED t-test analysis
t = 2.875 (enter your value), P = 0.0056 (enter your value)
Pain Threshold (Time, seconds)
1 14 20 30
2 22 22
Nitrous Control: Control:
3 4 16
Oxide
40% 4 29 40
14.03 5.37
5 14 40
6 13 120
7 18 63
8 10 20
9 4 4 Experiment: Experiment:
10 12 17 30.77 23.57
11 8 62
12 3 6
13 18 49
14 11 22
15 15 76
16 15 25
17 13 23
18 17 34
19 20 40
20 10 20
21 12 22
22 16 18
23 18 22
24 20 28
25 15 18
26 14 20
27 15 18
28 13 19
29 14 19
30 14 20