Thursday January 7, 2010
A note on hyperkalemic response after succinylcholine administration

Not all patients have an exaggerated hyperkalemic response after succinylcholine administration. However, patients with conditions involving central and peripheral motor neurons, such as encephalitis, stroke, intracranial tumors, cerebral aneurysms, head trauma, spinal cord injuries, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and myopathies, may develop severe hyperkalemia after succinylcholine administration. Hyperkalemia has also been observed during the prolonged immobility of patients with burns or intraabdominal infections and in patients receiving other nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents. Also, preexisting hyperkalemia may be exacerbated in patients with chronic renal insufficiency.