A NEW ANASTHETIC.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 7 May 1914, Page 4

A NEW ANASTHETIC.

PREVENTION OF HEART FAILURE IN OPERATIONS.

Some interesting experiments 'a.1 h&w auaesthetic, which it is believed may prove of great service, are at present being conducted on animals in a - Cambridge laboratory. The anaesthetic is a substance which has for a considerable time been familiar to medical men and chemists under the name of. urothane. This drug, which is obtained by combining urea with alcohol, is administered hypodermically, like morphia, with a syringe. A short time alter the injection ham been made the animal becomes drowsy and soon passes into a state of very deep unconsciousness. Insensibility ta pain is complete and any operation'. may be carried out with perfect security. The-animal remains in this insensible state for some hours, and then gradually regains consciousness. ADVANTAGES O# URETH^HE.

Ill© great advantage of urethane ss said to be the fact that heart failure never occurs when it is properly used. Should the dru& be given in an overdose, death will, of course take place* - but that is due primarily to failure of breathing. The importance of this is not clear until one realises that ihe majority of deaths under chloroform oe- ' cur as the result of heart failure. When breathing stops, as it frequently does during the administration of an inhaled' anaesthetic, it can usually be started again by artificial respiration, always provided that the heart is still beating. The assurance that in all cases of overdose the breathing would be affected before the heart—and not after it—would, be an immense comfort to the surgeon and anaesthetist.

Another advantage of the new anaesthetic is the fact that its adminis-: tration is not attended by the choking ' sensation experienced with ether and; chloroform, which are given under a mask. Moreover, aft^r uretbane sickness does not take place. Thus the ' ever-present danger of etitches^givih^ - way and ligatures slipping off during- * the process of retehing is avoided. On the other hand, a very prolonged ■■ > period of insensibility —abmit six hours ' —follows the administration of uretft- ■ ane. Tt has not. so far, been found pos- ■ sible to shorten this ti^ne. Wtfeth^r the * advantages will outweigh tni/tmdouhfed disadvantage remains to be seen. Tn ' the meantime the anaesthetic is proving a great boon to those carrvinfr^jtr -: experimental operations on animals. u '