Depression of Neuromuscular Function in a Patient During Desflurane Anesthesia

• Published in: Anesthesia and analgesia Vol. 76; no. 4; pp. 868 - 871
• Main Authors: Kelly, Robert E., Lien, Cynthia A., Savarese, John J., Belmont, Matthew R., Hartman, Gregg S., RUSSO, Joyce R., Hollmann, Charleen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD International Anesthesia Research Society 01-04-1993; Lippincott
• Subjects: Adult; Anesthesia - adverse effects; Anesthetics - adverse effects; Anesthetics. Neuromuscular blocking agents; Biological and medical sciences; Depression, Chemical; Desflurane; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Humans; Isoflurane - adverse effects; Isoflurane - analogs & derivatives; Male; Medical sciences; Neuromuscular Junction - drug effects; Neuromuscular Junction - physiology; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Volatile compound; Case study; Human; Activity concentration relation; General anesthetic; General anesthesia; Neuromuscular transmission
• ISSN: 0003-2999; 1526-7598
• DOI: 10.1213/00000539-199304000-00031

Desflurane is a potent new volatile anesthetic undergoing clinical investigation. The minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration (MAC) of this anesthetic has been defined at 7.25% (1). The neuromuscular depressant activity of desflurane at a variety of concentrations up to 1.67 MAC has been described in volunteers (2). We describe the substantially increased depression of neuromuscular function observed in a patient at a concentration of desflurane higher than described previously.