Comparison of plasma compartment versus two methods for effect compartment--controlled target-controlled infusion for propofol.

Background: Target-controlled infusion (TCI) systems can control the concentration in the plasma or at the site of drug effect. A TCI system that targets the effect site should be able to accurately predict the time course of drug effect. The authors tested this by comparing the performance of three control algorithms: plasmacontrol TCI versus two algorithms for effect-site control TCI.