Background: The noxious stimulation response index (NSRI) is a novel anesthetic depth index ranging between 100 and 0, computed from hypnotic and opioid effect-site concentrations using a hierarchical interaction model. The authors validated the NSRI on previously published data.
Methods: The data encompassed 44 women, American Society of Anesthesiology class I, randomly allocated to three groups receiving remifentanil infusions targeting 0, 2, and 4 ng/ml. Propofol was given at stepwise increasing effect-site target concentrations. At each concentration, the observer assessment of alertness and sedation score, the response to eyelash and tetanic stimulation of the forearm, the bispectral index (BIS), and the acoustic evoked potential index (AAI) were recorded. The authors computed the NSRI for each stimulation and calculated the prediction probabilities (PKs) using a bootstrap technique. The PKs of the different predictors were compared with multiple pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni correction.
Results: The median (95% CI) PK of the NSRI, BIS, and AAI for loss of response to tetanic stimulation was 0.87 (0.75-0.96), 0.73 (0.58-0.85), and 0.70 (0.54-0.84), respectively. The PK of effect-site propofol concentration, BIS, and AAI for observer assessment of alertness and sedation score and loss of eyelash reflex were between 0.86 (0.80-0.92) and 0.92 (0.83-0.99), whereas the PKs of NSRI were 0.77 (0.68-0.85) and 0.82 (0.68-0.92). The PK of the NSRI for BIS and AAI was 0.66 (0.58-0.73) and 0.63 (0.55-0.70), respectively.
Conclusion: The NSRI conveys information that better predicts the analgesic component of anesthesia than AAI, BIS, or predicted propofol or remifentanil concentrations. Prospective validation studies in the clinical setting are needed.