A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF SUXAMETHONIUM AND TUBOCURARINE IN PATIENTS IN LONDON AND NEW YORK

Abstract

The effects of suxamethonium and tubocurarine were studied in London and New York patients anaesthetized with thiopentone, nitrous oxide and halothane. The action of tha muscle relaxants were assessed by measurement of the twitch respone of the adductor pollicis muscle to supramaximal stimulation of the ulnar nerve. The duration of action of suxamethonium (1 mg/kg) was less in London patients than in a comparable group of New York patients. With tubocurarine (0.1 mg/kg) the magnitude and duration of action was less in London than in New York patients. In a group of Amercian patients at a United States Air Force (USAF) hospital the magnitude and duration of action of tubocurarine (0.1 mg/kg) was similar to that seen in New York patients. It was also observed that the response to tubocurarine (0.1 mg/kg) was affected by the prior administration of suxamethonium (1 mg/kg). Both the magnitude and duartion of action of tuborcurarine were greater in patients who had previously received suxamethonium than in those who had not.