JOURNAL HOME CME HOME THIS MONTH PAST ISSUES ETOC COLLECTIONS
AUTHORS REVIEWERS EDITORIAL BOARD FEEDBACK RSS HELP
A&A International Anesthesia Research Society
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Anesth Analg 1988; 67:161-165
© 1988 International Anesthesia Research Society
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a colleague
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gallo, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by Puchi, P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gallo, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by Puchi, P.

Comparison of Effects of Atracurium and Vecuronium in Cardiac SurgicalPatients

Joseph A. Gallo, MD, Randall C. Cork, MD PhD, and Patricia Puchi, RN

Received from the Department of Anesthesiology, The University of ArizonaMedical School, University Medical Center, Tucson, Arizona.

Abstract

To compare the cardiovascular effects of intubating doses of atracurium besylate and vecuronium bromide in cardiac surgical patients while utilizing fentanyl anesthesia, 20 patients scheduled for elective coronaryartery bypass surgery were randomly assigned to two equal groups in a double-blind fashion. Two minutes after induction of anesthesia, baseline hemodynamic measurements were obtained and either atracurium 0.5 mg/kg (group 1) or vecuronium 0.12 mg/kg (group 2) was administered as an intravenous bolus. Hemodynamic measurements were then repeated 2, 5, and 10 minutes after injection. Atracurium produced a statistically significant decrease in blood pressure at 2 minutes and a statistically significant increase in cardiac output and decrease in systemic vascular resistance at 2, 5, and 10 minutes. Vecuronium produced no statistically significant changes in any hemodynamic variable measured other than a decrease in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure 10 minutes after the drug was administered. The hemodynamic changes seen with atracurium were closely related to changes in serum histamine levels, whereas histamine level did not change after vecuronium. There were no statistically significant differences between thetwo groups, even though after atracurium statistically significant changes were observed while there were no statistically significant changes associated with vecuronium. It is concluded that when utilizing the above clinical dose range, use of vecuronium may be advantageous over use of atracurium when hemodynamic stability is crucial in the anesthetic managementof cardiac surgical patients.

Key Words: NEUROMUSCULAR RELAXANTS— atracurium, vecuronium. • HISTAMINE—atracurium, vecuronium.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
A. Amann, J. Rieder, M. Fleischer, P. Niedermuller, G. Hoffmann, A. Amberger, C. Marth, V. Nigrovic, and F. Puhringer
The Influence of Atracurium, Cisatracurium, and Mivacurium on the Proliferation of Two Human Cell Lines In Vitro
Anesth. Analg., September 1, 2001; 93(3): 690 - 696.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins 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 HighWire Press
Copyright © 1988 by the International Anesthesia Research Society.