The residual effects of neuromuscular blocking agents may persist into the early postoperative recovery period, even when neuromuscular blockade is carefully monitored and reversed in the operating room. Recent data suggest that mild degrees of residual paresis (train-of-four TOF ratios of 0.7-0.9) may be associated with significant impairment of respiratory and pharyngeal muscle function. Ther...

Neuromuscular blocking agents are used commonly in paediatric anaesthesia, both to facilitate tracheal intubation and during surgery. Paediatric patients differ from adults in certain pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics. However, because maturational changes in certain of these characteristics counterbalance, dosing requirements do not differ markedly with age. In general, onset...

When a clinical dose of a competitive neuromuscular blocking drug is given I.V. to a patient, a period of latency is followed by a progressive onset of blockade until a maximum is reached after several minutes. Thereafter, the intensity of block declines gradually. The precise relationship between the dose of drug and the time-course of the effect is complex, being dependent upon both pharmacok...

BACKGROUND Several studies have recognized neuromuscular blocking agents as the most common cause of anaphylaxis during general anesthesia, but the reported frequencies vary considerably between countries. In Norway, the issue has raised special concern because of reports from the Norwegian Medicines Agency that suggest a high prevalence. This article presents the results from a standardized al...

The influence of the primary bile salts taurocholate and chenodeoxycholate on the neuromuscular blockade of the non-depolarizing drugs Org 6368, pancuronium, Org NC 45 and hexafluorenium was studied in cats. An increase in the effects of these agents, all possessing widely varying molecular structures, was found following administration of the bile salts. The bile salt concentrations in plasma ...