Table 5-2
- End point in a MAC determination is quantal (a subject is either anesthetized or unanesthetized)
- Difficult to compare MAC measurements to concentration–response curves obtained in vitro
- MAC represents the average response of a whole population of subjects rather than the response of a single subject
- MAC measurements can only be directly applied to anesthetic gases
- MAC equivalent for parenteral anesthetics (barbiturates, neurosteroids, propofol) is the free concentration of the drug in the plasma necessary to prevent movement in response to a noxious stimulus in 50% of subjects
- MAC is highly dependent on the anesthetic end point used to define it (verbal command vs. noxious stimulus)