{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.014382402707275803, 'fraction_numerical': 0.007614213197969543, 'mean_word_length': 5.360215053763441, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Ketamine as an anaesthetic agent for tubal sterilisation.

OBJECTIVE
In most developing countries there is a dearth of qualified anaesthesiologists to administer general anaesthesia for tubal sterilisation. This study was done to determine whether ketamine could be safely used by non-specialist doctors as an anaesthetic for open tubal ligation.


METHOD
A retrospective observational study of 4851 tubal sterilisations done under ketamine anaesthesia. All patients were given diazepam 0.1 mg/kg body weight intravenously followed by intravenous ketamine 2 mg/kg body weight slowly over one minute. All sterilisations were performed by Pomeroys method by a specialist or a senior house officer with specialist supervision.


RESULTS
There were no major adverse reactions such as cardio-respiratory arrest following administration of ketamine. Hallucinations and transient psychotic sequalae were a common occurrence during the postoperative period. In 96% of patients the procedure was pain free.


CONCLUSION
Ketamine given by non-specialist doctors can be recommended in carefully selected patients when there is a dearth of qualified anaesthesiologists for tubal sterilisations.