Pre-anaesthetic administration of dantrolene sodium to a patient at risk from malignant hyperthermia: case report

The pre-anaesthetic administration of dantrolene sodium to individuals at risk from malignant hyperthermia has not yet found an accepted place in human anaesthetic practice, although the effectiveness of dantrolene sodium as a prophylactic drug has been clearly shown in animal studies. In the patient described in this report, no conclusion is drawn about the effectiveness of dantrolene sodium, but attention is drawn to a brief episode of vomiting and diarrhoea some two hours after ingestion of the drug. Modification of the dosage scheme may be advisable.