Why the study?
Does an automatic feedback control technique effectively maintain neuromuscular blockade in anaesthetised surgical patients?
Does an automatic feedback control technique effectively maintain neuromuscular blockade in anaesthetised surgical patients?
An automatic feedback control system can effectively maintain neuromuscular blockade during surgery, though practical setup and electrical noise present challenges.
Case report supports feasibility of automated neuromuscular blockade control; leaves open validation in controlled trials before practice change.
A simple feedback control technique has been used to automatically deliver pancuronium to anaesthetised surgical patients. The dosage rate is automatically adjusted at 10-second intervals, according to the measured evoked, rectified, integrated electromyogram. When set to demand 80 percent blockade, in 40 patients, the controller maintained blockade at a steady mean level of 72.9 percent (consuming pancuronium at a mean rate of 0.47 microgram/kg/minute). The main clinical practical problems involved protection against electrical noise and the need to spend time setting up the equipment.
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Asbury et al. (1986) studied this question.
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