• Karin S Khuenl-Brady, Magnus Wattwil, Bernard F Vanacker, José I Lora-Tamayo, Henk Rietbergen, and José A Alvarez-Gómez.
• Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. karin.khuenl-brady@i-med.ac.at
• Anesth. Analg. 2010 Jan 1;110(1):64-73.

BackgroundSugammadex, a specifically designed gamma-cyclodextrin, is a selective relaxant binding drug that rapidly reverses rocuronium-induced and, to a lesser extent, vecuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade. In this study, we compared the efficacy of sugammadex and neostigmine for the reversal of vecuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade in patients scheduled for elective surgery.MethodsPatients aged > or = 18 yr, ASA Class I-III, and scheduled for a surgical procedure under sevoflurane/opioid anesthesia received an intubating dose of vecuronium (0.1 mg/kg) and maintenance doses of 0.02-0.03 mg/kg at reappearance of the second twitch (T(2)) of train-of-four (TOF) if required. Neuromuscular blockade was monitored using acceleromyography (TOF-Watch SX, Schering-Plough Ireland, Dublin, Ireland). At end of surgery, at reappearance of T(2) after the last dose of vecuronium, patients were randomized to receive either sugammadex (2 mg/kg) or neostigmine (50 microg/kg) plus glycopyrrolate (10 microg/kg) i.v.. The primary efficacy end-point was time from start of administration of sugammadex or neostigmine to recovery of TOF ratio to 0.9.ResultsThe geometric mean time to recovery of the TOF ratio to 0.9 was significantly faster with sugammadex compared with neostigmine (2.7 min [95% confidence interval {CI}]: 2.2-3.3) versus 17.9 min [95% CI: 13.1-24.3], respectively; P < 0.0001). The mean recovery times to a TOF ratio of 0.8 and 0.7 were also significantly shorter with sugammadex. No serious adverse events or unexpected side effects were reported with either drug.ConclusionSugammadex provided significantly faster reversal of vecuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade compared with neostigmine.

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