II. Precautions
- Used only in anesthesia, emergency and intensive care
- Airway and respiratory control is critical after use
- Paralytic Agents do not alter Level of Consciousness
- Must be used with sedation and analgesia
III. Mechanism
- Interfere with transmission at neuromuscular end plate
- Two mechanisms of Neuromuscular Blockade
- Non-depolarizing agents (Acetylcholine antagonists)
- Prototype: Curare
- Agents used clinically
- Other agents: Tubocurarine, Metocurine, Gallamine
- Depolarizing agents (Acetylcholine agonists)
- May also occur with Cholinesterase Inhibitors
- Prototype: Succinylcholine
- Agents used clinically
- Non-depolarizing agents (Acetylcholine antagonists)
IV. References
- Miller in Katzung (1989) Pharmacology, p. 323-33
- Savarese in Miller (2000) Anesthesia, p. 412-90
