Dexamethasone decreases the duration of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block: a randomised controlled study.

Background: Several drugs influence the time course of neuromuscular block during general anaesthesia.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a single dose of dexamethasone 8 mg on the time course of a rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block.

Design: A randomised controlled, unblinded, monocentre trial.

Setting: Kreiskrankenhaus Dormagen, Dormagen, Germany.

Patients: One hundred and eight adult patients scheduled for elective gynaecological laparoscopic surgery allocated to three groups.

Interventions: Patients received dexamethasone 8 mg intravenously 2 to 3 h prior to surgery (Group A), during induction of anaesthesia (Group B) or after recovery of the neuromuscular block (Group C, control).

Main Outcome Measures: The time course of the neuromuscular block of rocuronium 0.3 mg kg was assessed using acceleromyography. The primary end point was the time from start of injection of rocuronium until recovery to a train-of-four ratio of 0.9.

Results: The clinical duration was decreased in Group A (15.8 ± 4.5 min) compared with Group B (18.7 ± 5.8 min; P = 0.031). The recovery index was reduced in Group A (6.8 ± 1.8 min) compared with Group B (8.1 ± 2.6 min; P = 0.018) and Group C (8.3 ± 2.8 min; P = 0.01). The recovery to a train-of-four ratio of 0.9 was shorter in Group A (30.4 ± 6.9 min) than in Groups B (36.3 ± 10.7 min; P = 0.031) and C (36.8 ± 11.3 min; P = 0.02).

Conclusion: A single dose of dexamethasone 8 mg attenuated rocuronium-induced block by 15 to 20% if administered 2 to 3 h prior to induction of anaesthesia. However, the administration of dexamethasone during induction of anaesthesia did not influence the time course of the neuromuscular block.

Trial Registration: ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier: NCT01782820.