The Use of Muscle Relaxants in Infants and Children.

The belief that the use of muscle relaxants in infants and children is both unnecessary and dangerous has not been substantiated by subsequent clinical experience. The important advances that have been made recently in paediatric anaesthesia are due largely to the introduction of muscle relaxants, which have reduced the need for toxic agents to a minimum and have emphasized the importance of control of pulmonary ventilation. Furthermore, muscle relaxants now play an important role in the management of a wide variety of medical and surgical conditions.