A comparison of rocuronium and lidocaine for the prevention of postoperative myalgia after succinylcholine administration.

The incidence of postoperative myalgia (POM) after succinylcholine administration has been reported to range from 5% to 83%. The administration of small doses of nondepolarizing muscle relaxants or lidocaine before the administration of succinylcholine has been shown to decrease the incidence and severity of POM experienced by patients. The purpose of this investigation was to compare the severity of POM in subjects receiving pretreatment with rocuronium or lidocaine. Seventy-four subjects were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind investigation to measure the effect of pretreatment modalities on the incidence and severity of myalgia following succinylcholine administration. Pretreatment consisted of either lidocaine, 1.5 mg/kg, or rocuronium, 0.03 mg/kg. Myalgia was measured using a 4-point ordinal scale. Ordinal and nominal data were analyzed using a chi 2 test and the Fisher exact test. A P value of less than .05 was considered significant. Data for 53 subjects were included in the analysis. Of the lidocaine group, 21 (72%) of 29 reported no myalgia at 48 hours compared with only 9 (38%) of 24 in the rocuronium group (P = 0.023). Satisfaction was similar between the groups. Based on the results of this study, pretreatment with lidocaine may provide better relief from myalgia than rocuronium at 48 hours after surgery.