DURATION OF VECURONIUM-INDUCED NEUROMUSCULAR BLOCKADE PREDICTED BY DOSE AND ONSET TIME

We investigated the adequacy of using dose and onset time as variables to predict the duration of action of vecuronium in patients. The onse t time until 95% twitch depression and the duration until 25% twitch r ecovery were measured for doses ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 mg kg-1. Stati stical analyses were performed by simple and multiple regressions. The duration of action was better predicted by dose (r2 = 0.61) than by o nset time (r2 = 0.51). However, the predictability was significantly i mproved by a multiple regression model of the variables, and the expla natory power was largest when using the square root of duration as the dependent variable (r2 = 0.69). We conclude that the duration of neur omuscular blockade after vecuronium can be predicted more accurately b y the combined use of dose and onset time than by dose alone.