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Prolonged Weakness after Long-Term Infusion of Vecuronium Bromide
- Yizhak Kupfer, MD;
- Tatsuji Namba, MD, PhD;
- Emad Kaldawi, MD; and
- Sidney Tessler, MD
Excerpt
Vecuronium bromide is a nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent chemically similar to pancuronium, but with minimal cardiovascular side effects (1). Unlike other neuromuscular blocking agents, vecuronium does not cause significant histamine release, which can lead to bronchoconstriction in patients with asthma. Because of its short duration of action, vecuronium can be administered by continuous intravenous infusion. In patients without renal impairment, large doses do not result in accumulation. Thus, vecuronium appears to be an ideal agent to achieve muscle relaxation for patients with respiratory failure, especially status asthmaticus.
In recent years, reports have linked prolonged use of neuromuscular blocking agents to
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgment: The authors thank Barbara Gudz for technical assistance in this work.
Article and Author Information
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From Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York. For current author addresses, see end of text.
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Grant Support: In part by a grant from the Maimonides Research and Development Foundation.
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Requests for Reprints: Sidney Tessler, MD, Director, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219.
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Current Author Addresses: Drs. Kupfer, Kaldawi, and Tessler: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219.
Dr. Namba: Division of Neuromuscular Diseases, Maimonides Medical Center, 4802 Tenth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219.
