Environmental temperature and response to premedicant drugs

ABSTRACT

A total of 105 subjects have been studied, 70 in the hot climate of Jamaica and 35 in the temperate climate of England. Following the same premedication a very significant alteration from resting levels in the arterial pH and PaCO3 occurred in the subjects in Jamaica, but there was no change in the Jamaican and English groups in England. This sensitivity was shown to be related to a lowereing of the metabolic rate in the hot climate. There was no relationship to race, liver disease, or immediate ambient room temperature (AU)