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Tetanic fade during neuromuscular blockade produced by atracurium in the rat diaphragm preparation
Author(s) -
Wali F. A.,
Suer A. H.,
Dark C. H.,
McAteer E. J.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-6576.1987.tb02648.x
Subject(s) - fade , neuromuscular blockade , medicine , anesthesia , neuromuscular transmission , tetanic stimulation , diaphragm (acoustics) , neuromuscular junction , biology , neurotransmission , neuroscience , receptor , physics , computer science , acoustics , loudspeaker , operating system
In the present investigation, we studied and measured the phenomenon of tetanic fade and peak tetanic tension depression in the rat diaphragm preparation in the presence of a blocking concentration of atracurium (e.g., 10 μmol.l ‐1 ). Atracurium (10 μmol.l ‐1 ) produced a pronounced tetanic fade (i.e., 47–69% reduction of total sustained tetanic tension) at a time (15 s) when it reduced the peak tetanic tension by only 25%. The time course for total tetanic fade was 30–35 s, whereas the time taken for complete peak tetanic tension depression was 3‐3.5 min, suggesting that the two effects were produced via different mechanisms, involving presynaptic and postsynaptic mechanism. It was concluded that atracurium produces a profound tetanic fade, with respect to its effect on twitch or tetanic tension, suggesting that the drug is a potent neuromuscular blocker, with rapid onset of blockade.