ACCIDENTAL SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTION OF VECURONIUM BROMIDE IN A PATIENT WITH BURNS

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Dr. Usha Devi R,
Associate Professor,
Department of Anaesthesiology,
Adichunchanagari Institute of Medical Sciences,
BG Nagar, Bellur, Mandya District,
Karnataka, India.
Email: ushadevi_ramaiah@rediffmail.com

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In patients with burn injury drug pharmacology will be altered and this poses special anaesthetic challenge when an subcutaneous injection of a non- depolarizing muscle relaxant occurs in such a patient. Small studies remain an important source of knowledge and hence this study aims to provide information on the anaesthetic management in a case of accidental subcutaneous injection of vecuronium bromide in a burns patient. PRESENTATION, DIAGNOSIS & MANAGEMENT: A 22 year young male with 4 days old hot water induced grade 1 burns involving 45% of body surface area was posted for burns dressing. Anaesthesia was induced with propofol and vecuronium bromide through an external jugular vein to aid tracheal intubation. As the patient was not anaesthetized even after 10 minutes routine check lead to the discovery of fullness at the tip of the intravenous catheter indicating an extravasation of the drugs. Hence the other external jugular vein was cannulated and the patient induced and intubated using propofol, sevoflurane, nitrous oxide and oxygen. The action of vecuronium outlasted the duration of surgery. So the patient continued to receive support of mechanical ventilation with nitrous oxide and oxygen. It took 130 minutes for the clinical signs of recovery from the muscle relaxant to manifest. He was then reversed & extubated with subsequent good recovery. CONCLUSION: Subcutaneous injection of these drugs poses problems of delayed onset of action and prolonged duration of action. In an inadvertent accidental subcutaneous 0.1 mg/kg vecuronium bromide injection in a patient with 4 day old 45% burns showed delayed onset action and prolonged neuromuscular blockade due to subcutaneous deposition of the drug which was managed with mechanical ventilation .The reported resistance  to the action of NDMR drugs in patient with burns was not noticed here probably because of the age of the thermal injury.

KEYWORDS: Thermal injury, accidental subcutaneous vecuronium, altered drug pharmacology.