Chlorpromazine in ocular surgery.

IN INDLA cataract surgery is a major problem. We consider any person above 60 years of age as a potential cataract patient if he is not one already. Through lack of education, the cooperation of the patient in intra-ocular surgery is not all one would like it to be, and it is therefore best not to rely on the patient's cooperation but to administer suitable sedatives. Chlorpromazine promises to be a highly suitable drug for this purpose. Delay and Deniker (1955) described its central depressant properties, and Decourt (1953) pointed out its hypnotic and anti-emetic effects, suggesting that analgesics and local anaesthetics have a more lasting effect when chlorpromazine has been used for general sedation. Moore (1955) considered it to be a satisfactory premedication for ocular surgery and stated that it eliminated the risk of non-cooperation on the part of the patient; he used barbiturate premedication together with chlorpromazine 3 days before operation. Burn, Hopkin, Edward, and Jones (1955), who tried chlorpromazine in combination with promezathine and pethidine, stated that this ensured muscular relaxation and freedom from apprehension, with minimal bleeding during operation. Rycroft and Romanes (1955) were of a similar opinion. Pierse and Ives (1955), however, thought that chlorpromazine had a local emetic action which was distinct from its central anti-emetic effect, and therefore advised that it should not be administered orally; they found the effects of the drug to be unpredictable and suggested that it should only be used by an expert anaesthetist.