Phenothiazine Derivatives in Anaesthesia

THE benefits to both patient and surgeon followed until either their discharge home, conferred by the use of phenothiazine derivatives in anaesthesia are so great that a report on the routine use of these drugs with pethidine as a sole or main anaesthetic agent for adults in general, uroor to a convalescent or other hospital, or until the end of the third week after operation. The types of operation done are shown in table I. The age range is shown in table II. As a third of the logical and faciomaxillary surgery may be patients were over the age of 60, a fairly of interest. Accounts of the pharmacology of chlorpromazine and promethazine have been given by previous writers (Baxter, Bolster and McKechnie, 1954) who have used these drugs to increase the action of anaesthetic drugs and to produce an autonomic block. The use of these phenothiazine derivatives as potentiating agents was abandoned early in this series as it appeared that a more accurate assessment of the patient's condition and postoperative progress could be made if anaesthetic drugs were omitted. Anaesthesia has been produced by the use of chlorpromazine, promethazine and pethidine with a relaxing agent whose action can be counteracted when desired. The advantages of the method described below over other anaesthetic methods previously used have been the smooth and uneventful anaesthesia and the reduced discomfort of the first 36 post-operative hours.