[Anesthesia in war and catastrophies]

On the basis of the literature, the development of war anaesthesiology is reviewed from the first war anaesthesia in 1847 until the present day. For nearly 100 years, ether was the main anaesthetic but, after the second world war, this was replaced by ketamine (Ketalar) which may be administrated by a simple injection or infusion. Under field conditions, the use of inhalation anaesthesia was rendered possible after the introduction of mobile mini-vaporizer which function according to the "draw over" principle and may thus employed without access to a flow of fresh gas. The anaesthetic most commonly is a combination of halothane and trichlorethylene. Following a review of the advantages and disadvantages of ketamine as compared with inhalation anaesthesia under field conditions, it is concluded that ketamine is preferable in mobile units while larger and stationary units should have the possibility for employing current methods of anaesthesia also. A proposal is presented for standard anaesthesia in small units in situations in war and catastrophes.