Medicine: New Anesthetic

A new anesthetic, three to five times as powerful as ether, has been developed by Dr. John Christian Krantz, professor of pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. It is called pro-pethylene (chemical name: isopropenyl vinyl ether). Last fortnight Dr. Krantz told the New Jersey section of the American Chemical Society that propethylene is superior to ether, the anesthetists’ standby.

Dr. Krantz made his anesthetic by combining ether with cyclopropane (a modern, quick-acting inhalation anesthetic). First he tried it on dogs, rats, mice, mon. keys, the hearts of frogs. Then he tried it on Mrs. Constance Black, an expert anesthetist in her own right. She reported that the anesthetic was “pleasant,” an adjective few have applied to ether.

When special cases in Baltimore hospitals began getting propethylene, its advantages became clear:1) though it has an etherish smell, patients rarely fight when going under; 2) it is safer to give than ether (less need be given; concentration is low in a patient’s blood); 3) in warm weather (and climates) the effect lasts longer than ether’s; 4) it does not evaporate as readily as ether, which makes it advantageous for use in the tropics.