Katarina Šakić

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Introduction of anaesthesia in CroatiaApain relief is a worthwhile humanitarian goal. The modern era ofanaesthesia began in the late eighteenth century when social atti-tude toward pain changed and efforts to relieve it were undertaken.William T. G. Morton, a Boston dentist with considerable interest inanaesthesia learned that ether dropped on the skin provided analgesiaand began experiments with inhaled ether. On October 16, 1846 he ar-ranged the first public demonstration of ether-anaesthetized surgery inthe Massachusetts General Hospital, an event that had far-reachingconsequences and would later be recognized as America’s greatest con-tribution to 19th century medicine. The medical profession, once thedetails of Morton’s anaesthetic technique became public knowledge,was quick to adopt the use of ether anaesthesia. Five months after thefirst public demonstration of ether anaesthesia in Boston, ether anaes-thesia was performed in Zadar, Croatia on March 13, 1847. It was thefirst ether anaesthetic in Croatia and the second one in Europe. Afterthe turbulent period of reporting about first experiences with ether ana-esthesia there were few other information until the end of 19th centurywhen Dr. Miroslav ^a~kovi} in 1896 first started reporting on the use ofSchleich anaesthesia by infiltration of cocaine solution.More than 160 years have passed from the time when anaesthesiasimply made it possible to perform operations previously consideredimpossible under conditions acceptable for the patient.Today, anaesthesiology comprises not only pain relief for operativeprocedures but also responsibilities in emergency and intensive caremedicine, as well as the treatment of patients with chronic pain.Recent database of published studies claiming to show benefits in fa-vour of regional techniques compared to other anaesthetic and analge-sic tehniques. Collaboration of Croatian Society of Regional Anaesthesiaand Analgesia Croatian Medical Association founded in 2003, togetherwith European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy, de-signed as a bridge between research, new ideas and new technologiesand their implementations in everyday practice.Current research in how regional techniques affect perioperativeoutcome, as well as the rapid development of continuous perineuralcatheters, extended duration local anaesthetic and opioid preparations,and ultrasound-assisted nerve localization all point to future anaesthe-siologists becoming more involved in regional anaesthesia, not less.A papers of this journal should to prove that regional anaesthesia ex-cept pain relief, offers reduction in surgical morbidity and mortality,shorter length of hospital stay, lower costs of treatment and thereforebetter functional outcome. Regional anaesthesia and pain therapy inCroatia through health care management, analyzed in orginal scien-tific paper, education of new procedure and clinical experience.KATARINA [AKI]Department of AnaesthesiologyReanimatology and Intensive MedicineUniversity Hospital Sveti DuhZagreb, CroatiaE-mail: ksakic@mef.hrReceived May 25, 2011.PERIODICUM BIOLOGORUM UDC 57:61VOL. 113, No 2, 123, 2011 CODEN PDBIADISSN 0031-5362Editorial

Introduction of anaesthesia in Croatia

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