Abstract
General anesthesia was used to facilitate 259 whole-body hyperthermia treatments in 90 patients. These patients fell into American Society of Anesthesiologists Classifications 3 (moderate to severe systemic disease) and 4 (severe systemic disease with life-threatening potential). Whole-body hyperthermia imposes severe stress on cardiopulmonary and renal function. In this series, elevation of temperature from 38° to 41.5° raised cardiac output to approximately 200% of control, while oxygen consumption rose 35%. General anesthesia provides conditions which allow for more precise control and support of vital signs, fluid requirements, and blood gases.
Presented at the Workshop Conference on Hyperthermia in Cancer Treatment, March 19 to 21, 1984, Tucson, AZ.
