Ether Hyperglycemia

The occurrence of hyperglycemia during and following ether anesthesia is well known and is one of the physiologic phenomena associated with that state. It is one of the striking manifestations of the effect of ether on carbohydrate metabolism. Mekie and Miller 1 reported elevations of blood sugar following ether anesthesia of varying duration; the degree of elevation varied from 27 mg. per hundred cubic centimeters in 30 minutes to 47 mg. in 110 minutes, a rise of as much as 62 mg. being noted in some patients after 60 minutes. The amount of increase bore no relation to the nature of the operative procedure, although it was greater in laparotomies than in extra-abdominal operations. Similar observations have been made by Mackay, 2 Ross and Davis 3 and many others, values as high as 400 mg. per hundred cubic centimeters having been observed in prolonged anesthesia in individuals with normal carbohydrate