Histamine release following pancuronium. A case report.

A case report is presented in which an asthmatic patient appears to have developed bronchospasm after being given pancuronium. A review of the literature indicates that this agent is the least likely of muscle relaxants in clinical use to provoke such a response, and that no such case has hitherto been reported. It is suggested that caution should be exercised even when pancuronium is used in asthmatic patients, and that those susceptible to bronchospasm in association with this agent might be identified by preanaesthetic skin sensitivity testing.