Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T02:48:42.845Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Prolonged Narcosis in Mental Disorder: Results of Treatment in 107 Cases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2018

Rolf Ström-Olsen
Affiliation:
Cardiff City Mental Hospital
Muriel L. M. McCowan
Affiliation:
Cardiff City Mental Hospital

Extract

The value of prolonged narcosis as a form of treatment in mental disorder has been well recognized in Switzerland, Germany, Holland and the U.S.A., but, so far, there has been little tendency to adopt the method in this country. It is true that there has been considerable diversity of opinion about its efficacy, but it must be remembered that much of the literature published reveals that there has been a general lack of uniformity as to technique, duration and drug used, apart from discrepancies in the interpretation of results. Furthermore, one of the most potent arguments against the treatment has been its dangers— a fact which has deterred many psychiatrists from giving it a trial. These dangers, however, instead of stimulating research into possible methods which might eliminate toxicity of narcosis, gave rise to a search for a Utopian narcotic, which would serve therapeutically whilst being free from toxic effects. No less than forty substances (according to Palmer and Paine (1)) have been tried, with but little result except to increase the confusion. In a previous communication by one of us (2) toxic symptoms of narcosis were discussed, and a method was described whereby these could largely be eliminated with doses of narcotic sufficient to produce prolonged, continuous sleep. In the present paper it is proposed to summarize and comment on therapeutic results in 107 mixed cases of mental disorder, in which a total number of 128 treatments were carried out. In 117 of these treatments somnifaine was used, in 9 veronal, and in 2 dial.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1934 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Palmer, H. D., and Paine, A. L., Amer. Journ. Psychiat., 1932, xii, p. 143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2 Ström-Olsen, Rolf, Journ. Ment. Sci., Oct., 1933, lxxix, p. 638.Google Scholar
3 Kläsi, J., Zeitschr. f. d. ges. Neur. u. Psychiat., 1922, lxxiv, p. 557.Google Scholar
4 Oberholzer, H., ibid., 1927, cx, p. 81.Google Scholar
5 Meerloo, A. M., Journ. Ment. Sci., April, 1933, lxxix, p. 336.Google Scholar
6 Loevenhart, A. S., et al., Arch. Int. Med., 1918, xxi, p. 109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7 Lorenz, W. F., et al., Journ. Amer. Med. Assoc., 1929, xcii, p. 880.Google Scholar
8 Bancroft, and Richter, , Journ. Phys. Chem., 1931, xxxv, p. 1606.Google Scholar
9 Bancroft, and Rutzler, , ibid., 1931, xxxv, p. 3452.Google Scholar
10 Furrer, J., Schweiz, med. Woch., 1924, 12/13.Google Scholar
11 Müller, M., Zeitschr. f. d. ges. Neur. u. Psychiat., 1925, xcvi, p. 653.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12 Quoted from Bleuler's Lehrbuch der Psychiatrie, 5th ed., 1930, p. 350.Google Scholar
* Read at the Annual Meeting of the Royal Medico-Psychological Association held at Northampton, July 6, 1934.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.