European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Vecuronium has a slow onset of action (2-3min) which limits its use in situations requiring rapid establishment of airway. Rocuronium can provide good intubating conditions within 90sec but it is not used routinely because of high cost. Combination of rocuronium with vecuronium is known to produce synergism without producing any side effects. It provides rapid onset of action and acceptable intubating conditions. This study was undertaken to evaluate the clinical benefits of the combination of rocuronium and vecuronium in terms of better haemodynamics and acceptable intubating conditions over individual drugs.
Methods: 90 ASA grade I and II patients in the age group 20-60 years of either sex scheduled for elective surgeries done under general anaesthesia were recruited for the study. They were randomly allocated into three groups - group V, group R, group RV with the sample size of 30 in each. After induction with fentanyl-propofol-nitrous oxide- oxygen, group V received vecuronium 0.08 mg/kg, group R received rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg and group RV received a combination of rocuronium 0.3 mg/kg with vecuronium 0.04 mg/kg.
Conclusion: The combination of rocuronium and vecuronium can provide clinically comparable conditions for tracheal intubation as rocuronium alone without compromising haemodynamic stability, thus, can be an economic alternative to rocuronium for intubation