In 1981, the Institute of Anesthesiology at the Ludwig Maximil- ian University of Munich organized a first international sympo- sium on inhalation anesthetics. In 1982, the most important con- tributions were published in the series Anaesthesiology and Inten- sive Care Medicine. At that time, the interest of European anes- thesiologists was focused on isoflurane, which had just been in- troduced for clinical purposes. Studies on this product had al- ready been appearing for years in the American literature. This book deals once more with all three inhalation anesthetics, but places particular emphasis on isoflurane. In contrast to the situa- tion in 1981, extensive experimental and clinical investigations on isoflurane have by now become available in the European litera- ture. From its conception, the objective of this symposium was not to discuss the relative value of inhalation anesthesia (bal- anced anesthesia) as compared with intravenous anesthesia. On the contrary, the major effects and interactions of isoflurane were to be explored. The side effects and their relative significance in different patient groups were also of interest. eurrent knowledge concerning a range of topics related to inhalation anesthetics (es- pecially isoflurane) was to be presented in a comprehensive and critical manner.
The effects of isoflurane on the cardiovascular system were the focus of interest during the symposium and are accordingly dealt with extensively in this volume. The comparative effects on cor- onary perfusion of isoflurane, enflurane, and halothane are de- scribed in detail.