title: Anti-curare effect of plasma from patients with thermal injury.
abstract: Following severe thermal injury, patients are resistant to non-depolarizing muscle relaxants. Although this resistance has been well documented clinically, little is known about its etiology. We have tested the hypothesis that circulating factors contribute to the decreased potency of neuromuscular blockers following burns. The potencies of d-tubocurarine (2 microM) or pancuronium (2 microM) dissolved in plasma from either burned or control human subjects were tested on the indirectly stimulated (0.2 Hz) rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation. The muscle relaxants produced less neuromuscular blockade when dissolved in plasma from burned patients than when they were dissolved in plasma from controls. Thus, circulating factors are involved in the decreased potency of non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA 19102.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Storella
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Martyn
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Bierkamper
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002056:Burns / Q000097:blood*; D003964:Diaphragm / Q000187:drug effects / Q000294:innervation; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000187:drug effects*; D003473:Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D010197:Pancuronium / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D010791:Phrenic Nerve / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D014403:Tubocurarine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D003473:Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents; D010197:Pancuronium; D014403:Tubocurarine