Article Notes
A reminder that hypersensitivity reactions are possible with almost any drug or chemical. At the time of this publication, the risk of anaphylaxis to sugammadex appeared to be lower than that for muscle relaxants – however newer studies from Merck (Kam 2018 and Min 2018) worryingly suggest that sugammadex sensitivity may be a lot more common than we thought.
The FDA’s caution now no longer seems quite so unwarranted...
A collection of evidence looking specifically at the issue of our poor stewardship of neuromuscular blocking agents can be found here: Neuromuscular myths: the lies we tell ourselves
Possibly... but with some important caveats.
“Sugammadex is likely the most exciting drug in clinical neuromuscular pharmacology since the introduction of atracurium and vecuronium in the middle 1980s.” – RD Miller (2007).
Sugammadex (Bridion®) is a remarkable drug – and the anaesthesia community has moved very quickly to embrace the potential of this first ‘selective relaxant binding agent’ (SRBA), despite it’s considerable cost.
Sugammadex offers a new and improved way of reversing aminosteroid muscle relaxation, in particular from rocuronium. The speed at which it reverses even profound neuromuscular blockade is incredible and potentially life saving. Sugammadex’s onset is 10 times faster than neostigmine and three times faster than edrophonium.
Though beyond the parlour-trick of speedy action, or the possibility of rescuing a cannot-intubate-cannot-ventilate crisis – the biggest benefit of sugammadex for our patients may be in the dramatic reduction of post-operative residual paralysis. A common problem with serious consequences that the anaesthetic community has ignored for far too long.
What's significant here is not confirmation that spinal anaesthesia improves ECV success, which has been noted before, but rather that this is not due to the analgesic effect as previously thought (ie. IV remifentanil improved pain during the ECV but not success rate), but instead may be primarily due to abdominal muscle relaxation.
Given the relatively low propofol TCI target (NB: 50% wake @ 1.07 mcg/mL and 50% orientated @ 0.95 mcg/mL), even in the presence of remifentanil, I wonder whether this is more a case of unrecognized light anaesthesia than sugammadex waking someone up.
Case in point, the demonstrated effect of rocuronium on BIS in awake volunteers: Response of bispectral index to neuromuscular block in awake volunteers
Chazot et al. describe a 25 yo undergoing a Nissen fundoplication, receiving TCI propofol/remifentanil (targets of 2.3 ug/mL & 4 ng/mL respectively) along with rocuronium. The deep neuromuscular block was reversed with sugammadex 4 mg/kg and the patient awoke within 80 seconds (clinically and BIS > 90) despite TCI targets continuing. No awareness was noted.