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News Release - BIS is Here!
by Delaine Humphreys, Family Resource Center

Have you ever had surgery? What was your biggest worry? If you're like most people, your greatest concern was over the anesthetic--that you would not get enough of it and would wake up during the surgery or that you'd get too much and be groggy all day! Lower Umpqua Hospital is proud to announce that it is the first hospital on the Oregon coast to be using the much-talked about anesthesia monitoring system called the Bispectral Index (BIS, pronounced "biz") in both of its operating rooms. As of a year ago, more than a million patients have been monitored with BIS technology.

The BIS system is a sophisticated monitoring device that uses a sensory strip on the forehead to measure the affects of anesthesia on the brain during surgery. The BIS continually analyzes brain waves and interprets mainly the brain wave associated with hypnosis. This allows the anesthesia provider to monitor the effects of anesthesia gases and other drugs on the brain. The greatest benefit of this particular type of monitoring is to monitor of unconsciousness under general anesthesia.

These days anesthesia is safer than its ever been. This is because training, research, monitoring and anesthetic drugs have improved dramatically. However, until the advent of Bispectral monitoring there was no precise way to monitor the depth of consciousness.

With this device, the anesthesia provider has an additional tool to judge how well a patient is doing while under general anesthesia. The monitor allows the anesthesia provider to fine-tune the amount of anesthetic a patient receives based on the monitor's readings of how awake the patient is. If blood pressure or heart rates rise, but the BIS does not show that the patient is regaining consciousness or needs more narcotic, then medication to adjust only the blood pressure or heart rate can be administered, rather than depressing all the body's functions with more anesthesia.

"I commend Lower Umpqua Hospital for making the move toward this advanced technology," said Director of the Anesthesia Department, Alex Whidden. "It shows great commitment to patient care."

The Anesthesiology Department tested the BIS monitor for two weeks prior to its purchase by the hospital. Anesthetists Larry Walker and Alex Whidden both agreed that the monitor exceeded all their expectations during the trial period. They believe that use of the monitor will better serve patients by offering them the best that technology has to offer.

Whidden went on to explain that because the greatest percentage of surgeries done at Lower Umpqua Hospital involves patients over the age of 65, the BIS monitor will be very useful. "It is difficult to judge what is too much or too little anesthesia because so many factors come in to play: the patient's age, physical and mental health, weight, and medical history. The BIS monitor is a critically important tool that will help to provide a safer and more individualized anesthetic to our patients.

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