Suxamethonium and critical illness polyneuropathy

Administration of suxamethonium to patients with critical illness produce l ife-threatening hyper kalaemia. A questionnaire to assess the awareness of this problem was sent to all Uk intensive care units. A clinical scenario s uggestive of critical illness polyneuropathy was accompanied by a list of p ossible drugs used to facilitate endotracheal intubation. Most respondents (68.7%) chose suxamethonium while 20.4% avoided any muscle relaxant. This r esult suggests a worrying lack of appreciation of the dangers of suxamethon ium use in critical illness polyneuropathy.