[Is suxamethonium still useful for paediatric anaesthesia?].
Suxamethonium is the only depolarising neuromuscular blocking agent, which is still being widely used during general  anaesthesia. Some of its unique properties rank suxamethonium as an ideal neuromuscular blocking agent i.e. the fast onset of muscle paralysis and spontaneous neuromuscular block reversal. However, the agent may trigger malignant hyperthermia, hyperkaliaemia, severe bradycardia and other complications, which have to be considered.  Due to differences in postsynaptic nicotine receptor structure and functional insufficiency of the neuromuscular junction, paediatric patients when compared to adults, are more sensitive to potential side effects when suxamethonium is administered. Malignant hyperthermia is an important risk factor. Ryanidine receptors located in the sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum membrane are responsible for the release of Ca2+  from intracellular stores and trigger this complication.The risk of hyprethermia increases in children when some neurologic and muscle diseases coexist.  Nowadays, in rapid sequence induction of anaesthesia, suxamethonium may be replaced with rocuronium - a non-depolarising muscle relaxant which provides the intubating conditions similar to suxamethonium. The rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade, which lasts longer than blockade following suxamethonium, is reversed with sugammadex - a new selective relaxant binding agent.  Despite new agents and methods, suxamethonium still remains the drug of choice for muscle relaxation for intubation in children.
Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Bydgoszcz, ul. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie 9, 85-095 Bydgoszcz. owczarekmarcin@o2.pl
Marcin
M
Owczarek
Robert
R
Bułtowicz
Roman
R
Kaźmirczuk
Kamila
K
Sadaj-Owczarek
Przemysław
P
Paciorek
Marlena
M
Jakubczyk
Kinga
K
Kupczyk
Krzysztof
K
Kusza
D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018681:Anesthetics, General / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D009126:Muscle Relaxation / Q000187:drug effects; D003473:Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013390:Succinylcholine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*
D018681:Anesthetics, General; D003473:Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents; D013390:Succinylcholine