[Anesthesiological problems in legal abortions]

The article reports on 1437 cases of narcosis for induced abortion conducted in the hospital of Niguarda, Italy, between June 1978-April 1979. As the majority of women treated were past the 10th week of pregnancy, general anesthesia was chosen, with little doses of thiapentol and NLA drugs; at the same time the patients were inhaling a mixture of O2 and N2O. This method proved far superior to other techniques experimented; there was perfect muscular relaxation, no obstetric or anesthesiological complications, no vomiting, and no necessity to help breathing at awakening. Most patients left the hospital the same day.