Comparison of rocuronium and succinylcholine: Onset of action, ease of intubation, and hemodynamic parameters during general anesthesia

This prospective, single-blind, randomized study aims to assess the hemodynamic parameters, onset time, and ease of intubation using succinylcholine and rocuronium during general anesthesia. Before induction, patients received premedication with appropriate doses of anticholinergic drugs, anxiolytics, and antiemetics. Anesthesia induction involved 1% propofol at 2 mg/kg. Each group consisted of 50 randomly assigned patients. Succinylcholine and rocuronium were administered intravenously (1.2 mg/kg dose each) to Group 1 and Group 2, respectively. Intubation was carried out after 60 s, and the intubating conditions were evaluated. The onset times were noted, and heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation (SpO2), and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) readings were recorded every 1, 3, and 5 min using multimodality monitors. While 49 patients in Group 2 experienced good intubating conditions, all patients in Group 1 met clinically acceptable intubating parameters. The onset of drug action in Group 1 was 56.42 1.14 s, and in Group 2, it was 56.36 1.08 s. After 1 min of intubation, there was a discernible increase in HR, SBP, DBP, and mean arterial pressure in both groups. Furthermore, these changes were hemodynamically comparable between the two drugs. The study findings suggest that intubation using succinylcholine and rocuronium can be achieved within 60 s with a bolus dose of 1.2 mg/kg under good to outstanding conditions. Succinylcholine provided better intubating conditions compared to rocuronium, although rocuronium may be considered where succinylcholine use is contraindicated.