Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Journal of Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Pharmacology
. 1969 May;36(1):116–131. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1969.tb08309.x

The influence of suxamethonium on cardiovascular and respiratory function in the anaesthetized horse

P Lees, W D Tavernor
PMCID: PMC1703571  PMID: 5768082

Abstract

1. In horses anaesthetized with halothane the intravenous administration of suxamethonium chloride, at a dose level of 0·2 mg/kg, produced a short-lived period of hypoventilation, which was associated with increases in arterial blood PCO2 levels and in plasma concentrations of bicarbonate, sodium and potassium ions, and reductions in arterial blood pH and PO2 values.

2. The respiratory depressant action of suxamethonium chloride 0·2 mg/kg was accompanied by increases in blood pressure and heart rate. Doses of suxamethonium chloride 0·4 mg/kg produced similar but quantitatively greater changes in cardiovascular and respiratory function. These effects were not accompanied by cardiac arrhythmias, with the exception of one animal, in which an unusually prolonged period of apnoea occurred.

3. The cardiovascular effects of suxamethonium during halothane anaesthesia were diminished but not abolished when the respiratory depressant action of suxamethonium was prevented by applying positive pressure ventilation.

4. The cardiovascular effects of suxamethonium in horses anaesthetized with halothane were partially antagonized by propranolol and completely antagonized by hexamethonium. It is suggested that the cardiovascular effects of suxamethonium are mediated by two distinct mechanisms: reflexly mediated increases in heart rate and sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone due to the respiratory depression, and a direct stimulant action of suxamethonium on peripheral, autonomic ganglia.

5. Much less pronounced changes in cardiovascular function, but not in respiratory function, were recorded when suxamethonium was administered to horses anaesthetized with ether.

6. A slight degree of tachyphylaxis to the cardiovascular and respiratory effects of suxamethonium was recorded in horses anaesthetized with halothane.

7. Some atypical effects of suxamethonium on respiration are described.

Full text

PDF
116

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ADAMS A. K., HALL L. W. An experimental study of the action of suxamethonium on the circulatory system. Br J Anaesth. 1962 Jul;34:445–450. doi: 10.1093/bja/34.7.445. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BARRETO R. S. Effect of intravenously administered succinylcholine upon cardiac rate and rhythm. Anesthesiology. 1960 Jul-Aug;21:401–404. doi: 10.1097/00000542-196007000-00011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BOURNE J. G., COLLIER H. O. J., SOMERS G. F. Succinylcholine (succinoylcholine), muscle-relaxant of short action. Lancet. 1952 Jun 21;1(6721):1225–1229. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(52)92058-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. CONWAY C. M. The cardiovascular actions of suxamethonium in the cat. Br J Anaesth. 1961 Nov;33:560–564. doi: 10.1093/bja/33.11.560. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dentan M., Vourc'h G. Trobule du rythme cardiaque après injection intraveineuse de succinylcholine. Anesth Analg (Paris) 1967 Sep-Oct;24(5):529–534. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Freeman S. E. Ionic influences on succinylcholine blockade of the mammalian neuromuscular junction. Br J Pharmacol Chemother. 1968 Mar;32(3):546–566. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1968.tb00455.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. GALINDO A. H., DAVIS T. B. Succinylcholine and cardiac excitability. Anesthesiology. 1962 Jan-Feb;23:32–40. doi: 10.1097/00000542-196201000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. GIEBISCH G., BERGER L., PITTS R. F. The extrarenal response to acute acid-base disturbances of respiratory origin. J Clin Invest. 1955 Feb;34(2):231–245. doi: 10.1172/JCI103076. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Katz R. L. Neuromuscular effects of diethyl ether and its interaction with succinylcholine and d-tubocurarine. Anesthesiology. 1966 Jan-Feb;27(1):52–63. doi: 10.1097/00000542-196601000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. LEIGH M. D., McCOY D. D., BELTON M. K., LEWIS G. B., Jr Bradycardia following intravenous administration of succinylcholine chloride to infants and children. Anesthesiology. 1957 Sep-Oct;18(5):698–702. doi: 10.1097/00000542-195709000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. PURPURA D. P., GRUNDFEST H. Blockade of cardiac synapses by succinylcholine. Science. 1956 Aug 17;124(3216):319–320. doi: 10.1126/science.124.3216.319. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. TELFORD J., KEATS A. S. Succinylcholine in cardiovascular surgery of infants and children. Anesthesiology. 1957 Nov-Dec;18(6):841–848. doi: 10.1097/00000542-195711000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. THESLEFF S. Succinylcholine iodide: studies on its pharmacological properties and clinical use. Acta Physiol Scand Suppl. 1952;27(99):1–36. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. VIDAL BERETERVIDE K. Actions of succinylcholine chloride on the circulation. Br J Pharmacol Chemother. 1955 Sep;10(3):265–269. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1955.tb00869.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. WILLIAMS C. H., DEUTSCH S., LINDE H. W., BULLOUGH J. W., DRIPPS R. D. Effects of intravenously administered succinyldicholine on cardiac rate, rhythm, and arterial blood pressure in anesthetized man. Anesthesiology. 1961 Nov-Dec;22:947–954. doi: 10.1097/00000542-196111000-00013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Pharmacology are provided here courtesy of The British Pharmacological Society

RESOURCES