Re ketamine

[Christos Giannou]

Must agree with Bluemedic and our Israeli colleagues. The ICRC uses ketamine
as our basic anaesthesia for all war wounded patients. This includes head
trauma, although most of our experience (in the thousands) is with
penetrating head trauma. Personally have had it used for closed head trauma
as well, but then one can perform a trepanation under local anaesthesia if
necessary. (It has been necessary on occasion.)

ICRC experience in Africa and South / Southeast Asia, and that of our
colleagues in those regions, has shown ketamine to be the safest anaesthesia
that is readily available, and inexpensive. For the vast majority of
practitioners in the Third World, this is a major advantage.  Many a
missionary hospital runs on ketamine. Quite a number of anaesthetists and
anaesthesia nurses from Scandinavian countries who have gone on Red Cross
missions in the Third World use it regularly at home as well.
-- 
christos giannou
Monemvasia Lakonia
23070 Greece
tel & fax: (++30) 27320-61772
mob: (++30) 69 74 83 28 18