Coinduction (Anesthetics)

Coinduction is a pharmacological technique in which a combination of sedative drugs is used to greater effect than a single agent during the induction phase of anesthesia, the period in which a patient loses consciousness and reactivity and one of the more hazardous parts of general anesthesia. Combining agents allows lower doses of each individual drug while aiming for better safety, faster recovery, fewer side effects and more predictable pharmacodynamics, and the technique is used as standard practice in both human and veterinary medicine. A typical adult regimen combines a benzodiazepine such as midazolam with an opioid such as fentanyl followed by propofol, while pediatric patients receive different combinations, such as fentanyl, ketamine and rocuronium, chosen for their physiology.