JOURNAL HOME CME HOME THIS MONTH PAST ISSUES ETOC COLLECTIONS AUTHORS REVIEWERS EDITORIAL BOARD FEEDBACK RSS HELP
		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by BRAND, J. B. Articles by ALI, H. H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by BRAND, J. B. Articles by ALI, H. H.

Spontaneous Recovery From Nondepolarizing Neuromuscular Blockade

Correlation Between Clinical and Evoked Responses

JEFFRY B. BRAND, MD^*, DAVID J. CULLEN, MD, NORMAN E. WILSON, MD, and HASSAN H. ALI, MD

* Clinical Fellow in Anaesthesia., Department of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114. Associate Professor of Anaesthesia., Department of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114. Clinical Fellow in Anaesthesia., Department of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114. Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia., Department of Anaesthesia, Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114.

Abstract

The effects of nondepolarizing muscle relaxants were allowed to wear off spontaneously in 10 ASA class III and IV patients following major surgery. Neuromuscular and respiratory function were followed by clinical testing and by evoked muscle responses using a train of 4 (TOF) supramaximal stimuli. At a TOF of 70 percent (range 62 to 78%), all patients sustained eye-opening, hand-grasp, and tongue-protrusion, while 9/10 sustained head-lift. Vital capacity (VC) averaged 17 ml/kg when the TOF reached 70 percent. The increase in VC correlated with the increase in TOF (r = 0.88). There was no correlation between inspiratory force (IF) and TOF, but all patients achieved an IF equal to or greater than—22 cm H₂O at 70 percent. Thus, TOF correlates well with clinical signs of neuromuscular and respiratory recovery in this group of patients and complements earlier studies in healthy anesthetized patients and nonmedicated volunteers.

Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999