STUDY DESIGN A systematic review of randomized and/or double-blinded controlled trials. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The use of muscle relaxants in the management of nonspecific low back pain is controversial. It is not clear if they are effective, and concerns have been raised about the potential adverse effects involved. OBJECTIVES The aim of this review was to determine if muscle relaxants...

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 co...

PURPOSE To evaluate the incidence of residual curarization (RC) and related risk factors in the early and late postoperative periods in patients receiving general anesthesia with intermediate-acting muscle relaxants. METHODS Two-hundred and eight American Society of Anesthesiologists class I and II patients, aged 18-70 years, who underwent general anesthesia with intermediate-acting muscle re...

Muscle relaxants are routinely administered during anesthesia. The residual effects of nondepolarizing muscle relaxants must be reversed by the anesthesia provider prior to extubation of the trachea to ensure that patients can safely protect their own airways and maintain adequate ventilation. Many factors can potentiate the effects of muscle relaxants, and each of these factors must be taken i...

Fifty-two randomized trials (5,318 patients) were included in this meta-analysis. In controls, the incidence of fasciculation was 95%, and the incidence of myalgia at 24 h was 50%. Nondepolarizing muscle relaxants, lidocaine, or magnesium prevented fasciculation (number needed to treat, 1.2-2.5). Best prevention of myalgia was with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (number needed to treat, 2....