Nitroprusside and the duration of tubocurarine and pancuronium

Seventy-six patients in whom sodium nitroprusside was administered in order to induce hypotension received either 0.2 mg/kg tubocurarine or 0.04 mg/kg pancuronium bromide. The duration of action of these two drugs was assessed. In contrast to previous studies in the dog, sodium nitroprusside, given concurrently with either tubocurarine or pancuronium bromide, did not result in significantly prolonged neuromuscular blockade (33.0 vs 28.6 min for tubocurarine and 39.3 vs 39.6 min for pancuronium bromide; P greater than 0.1). These findings suggest that the prolonged neuromuscular blockade which is sometimes associated with trimetaphan-induced hypotension in man, is not encountered with sodium nitroprusside.