Succinylcholine: A New Approach to Muscular Relaxation in Anesthesiology

IT IS generally accepted that the ideal muscle relaxant should have specificity and rapid onset of action, readily controllable intensity, wide margin between muscular relaxation and respiratory arrest and rapid and complete recovery after the cessation of its administration. The agents hitherto employed for the production of muscular relaxation in surgical anesthesia all fell short of the above requirements. Depending on the agent used, three to eight minutes were required for the development of maximal effect.1 2 3 There was more or less marked respiratory depression with all agents, and in a certain percentage of patients adequate muscular relaxation could not be . . .