Weerasekera, D SGunawardene, K K2009-05-282009-05-281996-09-01Weerasekera DS, Gunawardene KK. Ketamine as an anaesthetic agent for tubal sterilisation. The Ceylon Medical Journal. 1996 Sep; 41(3): 102-3http://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/48499The Ceylon Medical Journal.OBJECTIVE: In most developing countries there is a dearth of qualified anaesthesiologists to administer general anaesthesia for tubal sterilisation. This study was done to determine whether ketamine could be safely used by non-specialist doctors as an anaesthetic for open tubal ligation. METHOD: A retrospective observational study of 4851 tubal sterilisations done under ketamine anaesthesia. All patients were given diazepam 0.1 mg/kg body weight intravenously followed by intravenous ketamine 2 mg/kg body weight slowly over one minute. All sterilisations were performed by Pomeroys method by a specialist or a senior house officer with specialist supervision. RESULTS: There were no major adverse reactions such as cardio-respiratory arrest following administration of ketamine. Hallucinations and transient psychotic sequalae were a common occurrence during the postoperative period. In 96% of patients the procedure was pain free. CONCLUSION: Ketamine given by non-specialist doctors can be recommended in carefully selected patients when there is a dearth of qualified anaesthesiologists for tubal sterilisations.engAdultAnesthesia, GeneralAnesthetics, Dissociative --administration & dosageDeveloping CountriesFemaleHumansInjections, IntravenousKetamine --administration & dosagePain MeasurementRetrospective StudiesSri LankaSterilization, Tubal --methodsJournal Article