Cardiovascular and arousal responses to laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation in patients with complete spinal cord injury

We aimed to determine whether the autonomic and arousal responses to laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation were altered in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). One hundred and sixteen patients with traumatic complete SCI were grouped according to the time elapsed after the injury (9 months) and the level of injury (above T5 and below T5): acute high (AH, n=25), chronic high (CH, n=26), acute low (AL, n=20), and chronic low (CL, n=45). Twenty-five patients without SCI served as a control group. Bispectral index (BIS) response, systolic arterial pressure (SAP), heart rate (HR), and plasma concentrations of catecholamines and arginine vasopressin were measured. Both CH and CL groups showed a greater reduction in BIS values after induction of anaesthesia with thiopental compared with controls (P