Abstract

VILAPLANA SANTALO, Carlos Antonio. History of the introduction of Chloroform in Cuba. Rev cuba anestesiol reanim [online]. 2013, vol.12, n.1, pp. 91-104. ISSN 1726-6718.

Background: The administration of anaesthesia for surgical purposes was a medical event of worldwide impact and its diffusion is considered among the most rapidly spread medical successes. Objective: To present an update on the history of the introduction of Chloroform in Cuba. Development: A review was carried out by different search engines on the use of Chloroform in Cuba and Latin America, drug which was used for the first time in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, on November 8, 1847 by the Scottish obstetric surgeon James Young Simpson who administered the first anaesthesia with Chloroform in our planet. From this event, this agent replaced the ether. In America, it was administered by Fermín Ferreira, M. D. on February 11, 1848 in the Charity Hospital of Montevideo, Uruguay; and in Cuba it was administered by Nicolás José Gutiérrez Hernández, M.D. Conclusions: Through history, Cuba has had an important participation in the development of Anaesthesiology in the Latin American and Caribbean region, fact that can be verified in the available literature about the topic. Cuba was not only the pioneer in the use of ether, but also had the historical merit of introducing the Chloroformic anaesthesia in Latin America.

Keywords : History of anaesthesia; Chloroform.

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