• Alexandru Tutunaru, Julien Dupont, Vincent Huberty, Mostafa Ibrahim, Didier Serteyn, and Charlotte Sandersen.
• Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium. Electronic address: actutunaru@ulg.ac.be.
• Vet Anaesth Analg. 2017 Jul 1; 44 (4): 910-914.

ObjectiveTo determine the dose of cis-atracurium needed to produce a moderate neuromuscular blockade (NMB) in pigs.Study DesignProspective experimental study.AnimalsSeven pigs [five females and two males; median (range) body weight: 47 (36-64) kg].MethodsPigs were premedicated with intramuscular midazolam (0.3 mg kg-1) and ketamine (7 mg kg-1). Anaesthesia was induced with intravenous (IV) propofol 3 (1-4) mg kg-1 and maintained with isoflurane in oxygen. Based on a preliminary study, the subjects were administered 0.3 mg kg-1 cis-atracurium followed by 0.48 mg kg-1 hour-1 constant rate infusion (CRI) IV. A moderate NMB was defined as a train-of-four (TOF) count of ≤2 by acceleromyography. When the TOF count was >2, 0.1 mg kg-1 cis-atracurium was administered and the CRI was increased. The cis-atracurium CRI was decreased when the TOF count was under 2 for more than 15 minutes. The total dose of cis-atracurium required to maintain a moderate NMB was calculated as the total amount of cis-atracurium used (both CRI and supplementary boluses) divided by the administration time.ResultsThe cis-atracurium CRI lasted for 87 (76-151) minutes. To induce and maintain a moderate neuromuscular blockade, the initial dose of cis-atracurium was 0.3 (0.3- 0.5) mg kg-1 and the CRI was 0.71 (0.37-0.98) mg kg-1 hour-1.Conclusions And Clinical RelevanceThe doses described in our study may help researchers obtain a moderate NMB using cis-atracurium in pigs.Copyright © 2017 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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