The pharmacokinetics of intravenous anaesthetic drugs given by infusion: SPINA--a software program.

SPINA is a program developed with LOTUS 1-2-3 that simulates the pharmacokinetics of an infusion of intravenous anaesthetic drugs. SPINA incorporates a database which contains records of multiple-compartment pharmacokinetic models. The models have been obtained from the literature. They are directed towards those intravenous drugs that are used frequently during daily clinical anaesthetic practice. The models are classified using keywords for selection criteria (age, biometry, pathology and indication). To perform the pharmacokinetic simulation, the anaesthetist has to choose a pharmacokinetic model in which the program determines the turn-over rates, and displays a sequence of infusion steps. On request, SPINA provides the graphs for the theoretical drug distribution and for the infusion rate required to maintain the target concentration. SPINA therefore allows one to simulate the administration of intravenous anaesthetic drugs and to optimize their delivery.