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...

INTRODUCTION We report on the anesthetic management using opioid-free method of a patient with Steinert syndrome (myotonic dystrophy, MD), autosomal dominant dystrophy which is characterized by consistent contracture of muscle following stimulation. A myotonic crisis can be induced by numerous factors including hypothermia, shivering, and mechanical or electrical stimulation. In patients with M...

Background Malignant Hyperthermia is a life-threatening condition triggered by exposure to certain general anaesthetics (halothane, sevoflurane, and desflurane) and depolarising muscle relaxants (suxamethonium). Malignant hyperthermia happens primarily due to mutation of the ryanodine receptor type 1 (RYR1), located on the sarcoplasmic reticulum in myocytes. This mutation leads to increase in c...

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...