Background: Calcium increases the probability of transmitter release at the neuromuscular junction. However, it is not known whether there is a dose-dependent relationship between the dosage of calcium gluconate and the probability of transmitter release for non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockade (NMB) recovery by acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AchEIs). This study compared the neuromuscular recovery time and the incidence of postoperative residual curarization (PORC) according to the dosage of calcium gluconate co-administered with neostigmine in three patient groups.
Methods: Patients were randomly allocated to a control group, a 5 mg/kg calcium gluconate group (calcium 5 group), or a 10 mg/kg calcium gluconate group (calcium 10 group). The primary endpoint was neuromuscular recovery time. The secondary endpoints were the incidence of PORC at 5, 10, and 20 minutes after reversal administration and the train-of-four ratio (TOFr) at each time point.
Results: The neuromuscular recovery time was 5.3 minutes in the control group, 3.9 minutes in the calcium 5 group, and 4.1 minutes in the calcium 10 group, respectively (P=0.012). Neuromuscular recovery time was significantly different between the control and calcium 10 groups (P=0.017). The incidence of PORC at 5 minutes after neostigmine administration was 12 (46.2%) in the control group, 4 (15.4%) in the calcium 5 group, and 4 (15.4%) in the calcium 10 group, respectively, with statistical significance (P=0.014).
Conclusions: The co-administration of 10 mg/kg calcium gluconate with neostigmine achieved early NMB recovery and had the fewest variables.
Trial Registration: https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/index.jsp(KCT0004182). Date of registration:12 august 2019.
