A comparison of mivacurium dosage requirements during isoflurane and desflurane anesthesia

To evaluate the dose requirement and recovery characteristics of mivacurium infusions during anesthesia with equipotent concentrations of either desflurane or isoflurane.

Randomized, open-study comparing the effects of desflurane and isoflurane on mivacurium-induced neuromuscular blockade.

Operating suite of a university-affiliated medical center.

41 ASA status I, II, and III adult patients, requiring more than 45 minutes of neuromuscular blockade for surgery.

Following a standardized induction sequence and established steady desflurane-nitrous oxide (DES group) or isoflurane-nitrous oxide (ISO group) anesthesia at 1 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC), an intubating dose of 0.2 mg/kg of mivacurium chloride was administered. Ventilation was maintained with a face mask until the first twitch (T1) of the evoked train-of-four (TOF) reached 10% or less of control when tracheal intubation was performed. T1 was allowed to return to 10% of its control value. An infusion of mivacurium at the initial rate of 5 micrograms/kg/min was then started and adjusted to maintain T1 at 10% +/- 2% of control. Within 20 minutes of completion of surgery, the mivacurium infusion was stopped, and the time for the evoked electromyograph (EMG) to return to 25% and 75% of the original baseline was noted.

Neuromuscular function was monitored continuously by an evoked EMG. The average infusion rate was 5.7 +/- 2.4 micrograms/kg/min (mean +/- SD) for DES group (n = 20) and 6.6 +/- 2.7 micrograms/kg/min for ISO group (n = 21) (p = NS). There was no change in the infusion rate of mivacurium over time for both groups. However, there was an inverse relationship in both groups between the time to recovery following a bolus dose and the subsequent mean infusion rate of mivacurium (correlation coefficient = -5.0; p < 0.005). The spontaneous recovery index (T25-75) for the two groups was identical, 11.5 +/- 4.9 min (mean +/- SD) for DES group and 11.5 +/- 7.9 min for ISO group (p = NS).

There were no differences in the dose requirement and recovery indices of mivacurium during either desflurane or isoflurane-based anesthesia. Patients who took longer to recover from the bolus dose in both groups showed a subsequent reduction in dose requirements of mivacurium.