Dosage Patterns of Non-Depolarizing Neuromuscular Blockers in the Sheep

Abstract

Eighty per cent paralysis was induced and maintained for 90 minutes in the sheep by computer-controlled injection of gallamine, pancuronium, alcuronium or d-tubocurarine, using the integrated electromyogram as a measure of neuromuscular transmission. The dosage pattern consisted of a loading phase before any IEMG depression was detected, an onset phase during which a moderate amount of drug was required to achieve increasing paralysis, and a maintenance phase during which a substantially constant and relatively low infusion rate was required. The steady state rates of infusion in μg/kg/min during “maintenance” was found to be 6.0 for gallamine, 0.15 for pancuronium, 0.2 for alcuronium and 0.5 for d-tubocurarine.