Prevention of etomidate-related myoclonus in anesthetic induction by pretreatment with magnesium

Background: etomidate frequently leads to myoclonic jerks during anesthetic induction. this study aimed to detect if pretreatment with magnesium decreases myoclonus incidence. methods: a hundred asa (the american society of anesthesiologists) i-ii patients were included and randomized into 2 groups. three minutes before etomidate induction of anesthesia (by 0.3 mg/kg intravenous etomidate) , group m received 2.48 mmol (60 mg) intravenous magnesium sulphate and group p received equal volume of intravenous saline. myoclonus was evaluated as present/absent. results: the rate of myoclonus was significantly lower in group m than in group p (p < 0.01). hemodynamic parameters revealed no significant difference between the two groups. conclusions: low dose magnesium pretreatment before etomidate induction of anesthesia significantly reduces unwanted myoclonic jerks and also protects the hemodynamic stability.