• Thomas Metterlein, Frank Schuster, Elise Palmer, Norbert Roewer, and Martin Anetseder.
• Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. tom.metterlein@gmx.net
• Muscle Nerve. 2011 Aug 1; 44 (2): 213-6.

IntroductionMalignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially lethal anesthetic complication characterized by muscle hypermetabolism and generalized rigor. The exact mechanism of succinylcholine as an MH trigger cannot be examined in existing in vitro models. Therefore, a novel in vivo model was used to examine the metabolic response to succinylcholine.MethodsWith institutional review board approval, 6 MH susceptible (MHS) and 6 MH non-susceptible (MHN) pigs were anesthetized with hemodynamic and systemic metabolic monitoring. Microdialysis catheters were placed intramuscularly. After equilibration, succinylcholine, halothane, and Ringer solution were injected. Lactate was measured in the dialysate and statistically analyzed by Mann-Whitney U-test (significance level P < 0.05).ResultsHemodynamic and systemic metabolic parameters were not different between the groups throughout the experiment. In the MHS pigs, halothane induced a significant increase of lactate. In MHN pigs, no substance induced a reaction.ConclusionsHalothane, but not succinylcholine, induced a hypermetabolic reaction in this model. Therefore, the role of succinylcholine as an MH trigger remains questionable.Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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