Anaesthesia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The use of low-dose mivacurium to facilitate insertion of the laryngeal mask airway.
Ninety patients were assigned randomly in a double-blind manner to receive 0.9% sodium chloride, mivacurium 0.04 mg.kg-1 or mivacurium 0.08 mg.kg-1 intravenously, followed by propofol 2.5 mg.kg-1. A laryngeal mask airway (LMA) was inserted 90 s later. The LMA was positioned correctly during the first attempt in 87% of patients and this was not significantly altered by the use of mivacurium. ⋯ Patients were apnoeic for a mean (SD) time of 0.67 (0.72) min after propofol alone, compared with 1.72 (1.06) min and 3.05 (1.36) min in patients who also received mivacurium 0.04 and 0.08 mg.kg-1, respectively (p < 0.01). Patients who received mivacurium had a lower incidence of postoperative sore throat (24-30% vs. 53%) (p < 0.05). In conclusion, low-dose mivacurium facilitates LMA insertion and decreases the incidence of postoperative sore throat.