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Journal of Education, Health and Sport

ETHER - a partially forgotten anesthetic
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ETHER - a partially forgotten anesthetic

Authors

  • Kinga Pożarowska Students’ Research Group at the Department of Toxicology, Medical University of Lublin https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0691-0155
  • Agata Rosińska Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0308-656X
  • Maciej Orczykowski Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2319-3082
  • Marcin Tyszkiewicz Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5228-3741
  • Magdalena Choina Polish-Ukrainian Foundation of Medicine Development, Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3412-6176

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2022.12.11.015

Keywords

ether, anesthesia, abuse

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Ether is the common name for diethylether (CH3-CH2-O-CH2-CH3). It is a colorless, volatile and highly flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odor. It was widely used as an anesthetic in the past and is now a component of solvents. 

PURPOSE OF THE WORK: The purpose of this paper is to introduce ether as a potentially forgotten substance in the world of Western medicine. Its history, current use, potential for abuse for narcotic purposes, addiction, and the benefits of anesthesia with this agent in impoverished countries.

DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE: Ether was first synthesized in 1540 by Valerius Cordus. Ether is characterized by rapid absorption, rapid distribution in the central nervous system and rapid, short-lasting effects. Ether has high solubility in blood/gas, which slows both induction and recovery of anesthesia. In developing countries, it is suggested that ether be used as an intraoperative analgesia. But it should be remembered, despite the new psychoactive substances, other inexpensive and readily available intoxicants can be found, among them ether. It has been noted in numerous publications that abuse of ether is associated with abuse of other drugs and/or alcohol dependence.

SUMMARY: It is important to remember that ether compounds are widespread. People struggling with the urge to abuse substances can get these substances easily and cheaply. On the other hand, ether anesthesia is a great solution for developing countries. There are situations there that due to lack of funds, some operations are carried out without anesthesia. Ether is cheap, and administering anesthesia with it is quite simple, and could give wonderful relief to these patients.

References

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Bovill JG. Inhalation anaesthesia: from diethyl ether to xenon. Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2008;(182):121-42. doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-74806-9_6. PMID: 18175089.

Chang CY, Goldstein E, Agarwal N, Swan KG. Ether in the developing world: rethinking an abandoned agent. BMC Anesthesiol. 2015 Oct 16;15:149. doi: 10.1186/s12871-015-0128-3. PMID: 26475128; PMCID: PMC4608178.

Sharp ME, Dautbegovic T. Ether: stability in preserved blood samples and a case of ether-assisted suicide. J Anal Toxicol. 2001 Oct;25(7):628-30. doi: 10.1093/jat/25.7.628. PMID: 11599613.

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Cox D, DeRienz R, Jufer Phipps RA, Levine B, Jacobs A, Fowler D. Distribution of ether in two postmortem cases. J Anal Toxicol. 2006 Oct;30(8):635-7. doi: 10.1093/jat/30.8.635. PMID: 17132265.

Szreter T. My own experience in performing ether anaesthesia. Anaesthesiol Intensive Ther. 2018;50(5):339-343. doi: 10.5603/AIT.2018.0048. PMID: 30615792.

Seetohul LN, De Paoli G, Maskell PD. Volatile substance abuse: fatal overdose with dimethylether. J Anal Toxicol. 2015 Jun;39(5):415. doi: 10.1093/jat/bkv032. Epub 2015 Apr 5. PMID: 25845604.

de Peyster A. Ethyl t-butyl ether: review of reproductive and developmental toxicity. Birth Defects Res B Dev Reprod Toxicol. 2010 Jun;89(3):239-63. doi: 10.1002/bdrb.20246. PMID: 20544807.

Johanson G. Toxicity review of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether and its acetate ester. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2000 May;30(3):307-45. doi: 10.1080/10408440091159220. PMID: 10852499.

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Published

2022-10-24

How to Cite

1.
POŻAROWSKA, Kinga, ROSIŃSKA, Agata, ORCZYKOWSKI, Maciej, TYSZKIEWICZ, Marcin and CHOINA, Magdalena. ETHER - a partially forgotten anesthetic. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. Online. 24 October 2022. Vol. 12, no. 11, pp. 114-119. [Accessed 16 May 2025]. DOI 10.12775/JEHS.2022.12.11.015.
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Issue

Vol. 12 No. 11 (2022)

Section

Review Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Kinga Pożarowska, Agata Rosińska, Maciej Orczykowski, Marcin Tyszkiewicz, Magdalena Choina

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

The periodical offers access to content in the Open Access system under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0

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