Premium
The effect of residual receptor occupancy on sensitivity to repeated vecuronium
Author(s) -
CAMPKIN N. T. A.,
HOOD J. R.,
FAUVEL N. J.,
FELDMAN S. A.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2044.1993.tb07118.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ed50 , forearm , anesthesia , adductor pollicis muscle , pharmacokinetics , pharmacology , surgery , receptor , elbow , ulnar nerve
Summary Cumulative dose‐response curves were obtained for vecuronium in 10 patients anaesthetised with thiopentone, enflurane and nitrous oxide using adductor pollicis mechanomyography. Five patients received vecuronium systemically, which was repeated at 100% twitch recovery to obtain initial and repeat curves. Another five patients received 0.3 mg vecuronium into an isolated forearm and at 100% recovery of this arm received vecuronium systemically to obtain simultaneous dose‐response curves in both the previously isolated and nonisolated arms. There was no significant difference between the calculated ED 50 obtained after initial systemic administration [16.2 (1.7) μg.kg −1 ], after recovery in the previously isolated arm [14.8 (2.0) μg.kg −1 ] and simultaneously in the nonisolated arm [16.1 (2.9) μg.kg −1 ]. The ED 50 obtained after repeated systemic administration was significantly reduced [8.2 (2.9) μ.kg −1 ]. These results suggest that the reduction in ED 50 at 100% twitch recovery from systemic vecuronium is not due to residual drug at the biophase/receptor but to drug persisting in the plasma.