Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1867-06-06
THE USE OF -cHLoRoFoRM.

uGIS5SAkN "a
subject farther than is wanted for strict
~ professional purposes.
Twenty years have elapsed" says
the reviewer, ''siuce the discovery Of
a~nesthesia brought into the world Of
reality what had before existed only in
the fancy Of the poet-a borrowed like
ness Of slumber, death ~producible ut
will aud of temporary duration The
unexpectedness of the achievement may
be inferred from the fact that only a few
years before the leading French surgeon
Velpeau, spoke Of such an event as II
chimera, the pursuit Of which was aban-
doued. The discovery IA not, howev-
err, accidental, but the termination Of a
pursuit carried on tor years with the
definite end in view which was after
ward attained. In discussing this dis
covery and the agents by which it was
produced, the reviewer thinks that
much for which Drs. Morton and Jack
son, the prominent claimants, have OBJ
tanned credit, was derived from Horace
Wells, a dentist of Hartford, Counecti-
cut, whose brain was the modern source
of a~nesthesia. Wells experimental on
the nitrous oxide, which he showed
practically would abolish pain in the
extraction of a tooth. We cannot stop
here TO speak Of the mode of action Of
ether and chloroform.
The great drawback to the use OF
chloroform is the fact that alarming
symptoms, and even death, sometimes
occur during its administration. "As
it is the amour; of danger, the sources
Of its origin, and the power Of our art
to proven. it, as well as the relative
agency Of tho patient, the remedy and
the mode Of administration in producing
it, are among the most important and
interesting questions connected with the
subject" First, as to the number OF
deaths which have resulted from the
use of chloroform. These may be put
down as not less than one hundred and
nine. Looser estimates make them two
hundred. To establish the proportion
ate number of deaths we ought to know
the number of cases Of administration
OF the article, but this is impossible. 1t
can be said that some professional per-
sons have enjoyed complete immunity
from accident who have dealt with the
agent daily for years, as is the case with
Velpeau, in Paris, and Syme, in Edin-
burgh; and the instance Of the French
army in the Crimea, with 30 900 admin
~istrations and no death, is remarkable.
The time in the inhaling at which death
occurred is Of deep interest, both in a
theoretical and practical point Of view.
OF the los deaths reported, a large pro-
portion (5O) took place early in the pro-
cess and before the beginning Of the
operation for which it was given. Men
are, according TO all authorities, more
subject to death than women. Age
has a powerful influence upon the NOR
tally under chloroform. Thus, while
it has been given at all ages, from a few
days or even hours after birth, up to the
extreme limit Of old age, the largest pro-
portion Of deaths has occurred in middle
age, a, the period Of the most robust
health and the greatest vigor. There
are only two cases on record Of deaths
in children-one at two years of age and
another at four years. Contrary to what
would be at FIRST supposed, the healthy
and strong stand q worse chance with
chloroform than those who have been
weakened by disease. Another fact at
variance with prior belief on the subject
is, that by far the largest proportion Of
deaths has occurred in the most trivial
operations. A lesson this to discourage
the too ready occurs to anathetic In
halations in cases in which, with a little
fortitude, or with the aid Of the ordinary
~anodynes, the pain can be well borne or
greatly mitigated.
In regard to the real cause Of these
deaths, a considerable number that &C.
Cured at the very commencement Of the
inhalation were entirely independent Of
the chloroform. They were purely the
results Of emotion, and were really
caused by psychical influence and not
by the anethetic. The reviewer cites
from different writers quite a number of
cases of sudden death which occurred
just as the surgeon was about to begin
the operation or Immediately after. In
view Of the facts of this nature, Cir
aides comes to the very important con-
~clusiou that the accidents which have
been observed from the inhalation
of chloroform do not much exceed in
number the cases Of sudden death which
have occurred, without apparent cause,
during or loon after operations. A de-
duction from the deaths charged to the
account Of chloroform must DO made by
referring some to great loss of blood,
and others to the severity Of the opera
ton, under which the patients sank.
In writing for the future of chloro-
form there is another class which should
also be deducted from this list, viz: pa
tients suffering under tho delirium tre-
mems. Nine of the deaths have taken
place in such subjects. It may be stat
ed as q general proposition, based on
actual occurrences, that the habitual
use Of alcoholic drinks places a person
in the worst state for bearing chloro-
form inhalations. Disease Of the heart
is not, in the opinion of recent observ-
ers of experience, a standardization to
the use Of chloroform BY inhalation.
the breathing, more than the pulse, is