Final answer:
MAC involves drugs to make the patient comfortable without deep unconsciousness, while non-anesthesia sedation, or conscious sedation, keeps the patient conscious and responsive. Injectable anesthetics like propofol and ketamine are used for quick and effective pain management. Local anesthetics provide regional loss of sensation, and a combination of injections and gas is often employed to induce and maintain anesthesia.
Step-by-step explanation:
MAC vs. Non-Anesthesia Sedation (Conscious Sedation)
The term MAC, which stands for Monitored Anesthesia Care, refers to a specific anesthesia service for a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure that includes all aspects of anesthesia care—a pre-procedure visit, intraprocedure care, and post-procedure anesthesia management. MAC typically involves the administration of drugs to make the patient comfortable and pain-free but does not usually induce a deep state of unconsciousness as general anesthetics do.
Non-anesthesia sedation, also known as conscious sedation or procedural sedation, is where a patient receives sedatives or analgesic drugs to reduce pain and discomfort but remains responsive and conscious. This method is commonly used in minor surgeries or procedures where general anesthesia is not required. The drugs used could include injectable anesthetics such as propofol, etomidate, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and ketamine. They are administered with the goal to manage pain without affecting consciousness considerably.
Injectable anesthetics are often preferred over other forms for their fast-acting and reliable effects. They are used for the induction and maintenance of unconsciousness in general anesthesia, with intravenous injections being faster, generally less painful, and more reliable than intramuscular or subcutaneous injections. General anesthetics are also distinguished by their ability to induce a lack of awareness to painful stimuli, facilitating surgical applications. However, it is important to note that general anesthetics do not necessarily act as analgesics and should not be confused with sedatives.
On the other hand, local anesthetics are used to induce a loss of sensation in a specific area without affecting the consciousness. The administration mode of anesthetics can vary from inhalation to injections, and commonly a combination of both is used, with an injection to induce anesthesia and a gas to maintain it.