Effect of Magnesium sulphate on the dose requirement of Atracurium

Objective: to compare the mean intraoperative consumption of atracurium with and without intravenous administration of magnesium sulphate in patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery under general anaesthesia. study design: randomized controlled trial. setting: department of anaesthesia,services hospital,lahore. duration of study: six months (1st july,2011 to 31st december,2011). material and methods: one hundred patients of elective abdominal surgery were divided into two groups,group s (control) and group m (magnesium) comprising of 50 patients each. magnesium group received magnesium sulphate 50 mg/kg administered as a slow intravenous bolus and 15 mg/kg/hr by continuous intravenous infusion. the same volume of isotonic saline was administered to the control group. neuromuscular block was monitored using train-of-four stimulation. atracurium bolus of 0.15 mg/kg was repeated when more than two responses were detected until the start of closure of peritoneum. magnesium sulphate infusion was stopped after skin closure. results: out of 100 patients,in group s 6(12%) were males and 44(88%) were females while in group m,12(24%) were males and 38(76%) were females .age was between 25-45 years when compared,the dose of atracurium in control group with that of magnesium group statistically,the difference was significant (p<0.05). conclusion: the administration of magnesium led to a significant reduction in the dose of atracurium used during general anaesthesia.