https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/26905 2026-04-14T21:21:01Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20807 Title: Our experience with Ethrane (Enflurane) Abstract: Enflurane (or Ethrane) is a stable fluorinated methylethyl ether (Fig. 1). The drug was synthesized by TYRELL in 1963. It is a colourless volatile liquid without any chemical stabilizer. The anaesthetic properties of ethrane were studied by VIRTUE et all and they described them generally similar to those of Halothane. Further clinical works were done by DOBKIN, BLACK, ADAMS and others 2,3A. They found that enflurane is a satisfac- tory anaesthetic drug. It is usually administered from a special1y calibrated vapourizer through a standard anaesthetic circuit with or without Soda- lime. The minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of enflurane which is necessary for anaesthesia is 0.6070 in a mixture of 70% Nitrous Oxide in Oxygen and 1.7% in Oxygen. 1984-12-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20806 Title: The use of analgesia and anaesthesia during labour at St. Luke's Hospital, Malta Abstract: Although the use of analgesia to relieve the pain of labour soon ceased to be considered immoral, it has been a technically controversial topic since 1853. Having inhaled chloroform during the birth of her eighth child, Queen Victoria expressed herself as grateful for the discovery of this means of alleviating and preventing pain. The acknowledged skill of the physicians who sanctioned the inhalation of chloroform was contested by the rest of the medical profession who recorded intense astonishment at this use of chloroform. There still exists a lack of general agreement as to which drugs are ideal analgesics during labour. The reasons for this are that requirements are stringent, and much depends on the skill with which they are used. 1984-12-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20805 Title: The use of atracurium in paediatric anaesthesia Abstract: Atracurium is a novel neuromuscular blocking agent, containing two quarternary ammonium groups. The drug is considered to be free of undesirable cardiovascular side-effects and is designed to undergo rapid chemical inactivation by "Hofmann elimination" at physiological pH and body temperature. Therefore it is minimally cumu- lative (Payne and Hughes, 1981; Payne and Utting, 1983). The purpose of this study was to investigate the pros and cons of using atracurium in the clinical setting of the busy pediatric anaesthesia practice. 1984-12-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20803 Title: Clinical experience with non depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent : atracurium in adults Abstract: The new relaxant drug Atracurium was tested in clinical practice and the results revealed. 40 patients of the age of 25 - 62 years undergoing abdominal surgery were given the drug, monitored and clinically investigated in order to evaluate the properties of the drug. lt can be concluded that atracurium can be successfully used for endotracheal intubation. The rate of recovery after single or repeated bolus is fast and predictable and can be accomplished without the need for neostigmine. Nevertheless paralysis can be rapidly antagonised by neostigmine. lt has no cardiovascular side effects, none or only slight cumulation, and causes probably very slight release of histamine. lts inactivation is likely to be independent of renal and hepatic function. 1984-12-01T00:00:00Z