Anti-haemorrhagic effect of ethamsylate under hypotensive anaesthesia.

Sir,—Most surgeons like darkness in the operating theatre while carrying out procedures such as cystoscopy, oesophagoscopy, laparoscopy, retinoscopy in children, fundus examination during operation for retinal detachment, etc. Relatively dark conditions are preferred for carrying out certain investigations in the radiology department and cardiovascular laboratory. Under these conditions the anaesthetist is not able to see the movements of the reservoir bag and has to resort to other methods of monitoring respiratory functions, such as feeling the movement of the anterior abdominal wall or by listening to the breath sounds with the help of a stethoscope. It was therefore decided to evaluate the use of a reservoir bag painted with luminous paint so that it would glow in the darkness. It was found that the whole bag need not be painted. Accordingly, only the borders of the two adjacent sides of the reservoir bag and a dot or a circle in the middle of these two sides need to be painted (fig. 1).