Comparison of Cisatracurium and Succinylcholine on Hemodynamic Changes during and after Electroconvulsive Therapy

The succinylcholine as a muscle relaxant is used in patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy; so far, cisatracurium has not been used routinely and any study has not been done on it. Only limited use of cisatracurium has been reported in the literature. The aim of this study was to compare the changes in heart rate and blood pressure induced by succinylcholine and cisatracurium in patients who are undergoing electroconvulsive therapy.
This clinical trial study was randomized double-blinded without controls. The study included 68 patients who were candidates for receiving electroconvulsive therapy. Using convenience sampling method, the patients were divided into two equal groups. Randomly, each group received one drugs (cisatracurium or succinylcholine). The collected data were analyzed using independent t and chi-square tests.
Findings: The mean duration of seizures, spontaneous respiration recovery time since the cessation of seizure, duration of seizure to full consciousness, residence time of recovery were significantly different between the two treatment groups (P Cisatracurium is established as an intermediate-acting muscle relaxant with intermediate effect duration. Using low dose of cisatracurium, compared to succinylcholine, tends to shorter mean time to spontaneous respiration with much less complications after electroconvulsive therapy; it seems that cisatracurium can be a good alternative for succinylcholine in electric convulsive therapy.