Influence of etomidate, a new short acting anesthetic agent, on cerebral blood flow in man.

Cerebral blood flow was measured by means of a ten channel cerebrograph. This investigation was done after a corotid angiography; 2 to 3 miCi of Xenon133 was injected in the internal carotid artery. Beside CBF we measured arterial bloodpressures, heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, central venous pressures, blood gases and glucose in arterial blood, blood gases and glucose in the bulbus of the internal jugular vein and blood gases in mixed venous blood. In most regions CBF decreased significantly after Etomidate. The other parameters did not change. Only the heartrate slowed significantly.