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How Should Obesity be Measured and How Should Anesthetic Drug Dosage be Calculated?

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Controversies in the Anesthetic Management of the Obese Surgical Patient

Abstract

The risks involved with being overweight or obese are related to the deposition of adipose tissue (adiposity). There are several ways to assess adiposity and body composition. Current medication dosage recommendations are usually based on weight alone and are intended for normal-weight individuals of varying size. Since drug dosage is based on total body weight, the changed body composition and pathophysiological alterations in obesity are likely to affect the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of anesthetic drugs. Rather than using weight-based measures of obesity, physicians need to look for methods of assessing adiposity that predict how dysmetabolic an obese individual actual is. Anesthesiologists need to use individualized dosing scalars to take into account these changes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

    Luc E. C. De Baerdemaeker & Jurgen G. M. Van Limmen

  2. Department of Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

    Yves Van Nieuwenhove

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  1. Luc E. C. De Baerdemaeker
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  2. Jurgen G. M. Van Limmen
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  3. Yves Van Nieuwenhove
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Correspondence to Luc E. C. De Baerdemaeker .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Santa Maria degli Angeli Medical Centre, Pordenone, Italy

    Yigal Leykin

  2. Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Jay B. Brodsky

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De Baerdemaeker, L.E.C., Van Limmen, J.G.M., Van Nieuwenhove, Y. (2013). How Should Obesity be Measured and How Should Anesthetic Drug Dosage be Calculated?. In: Leykin, Y., Brodsky, J. (eds) Controversies in the Anesthetic Management of the Obese Surgical Patient. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2634-6_2

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