The effects of gallamine and a mixture of pancuronium and alcuronium on the pressor and plasma catecholamine responses to tracheal intubation.

Tracheal intubation can be accompanied by significant increases in arterial pressure, heart rate and the plasma levels of noradrenaline and adrenaline. The drugs used at induction can enhance or attenuate these responses. In nine patients who had received gallamine, intubation was associated with a 45% rise in mean arterial pressure, a twofold rise in plasma adrenaline and a 49% rise in plasma noradrenaline concentration. When a mixture of pancuronium and alcuronium (in a ratio of 4:10 by weight) was used in ten patients, blood pressure fell 24% after induction and rose 49% after intubation. A 24% rise in plasma noradrenaline in response to intubation was also observed. Compared with pancuronium alone, the use of the mixture attenuates the rise in blood pressure and noradrenaline concentration associated with intubation but does not abolish them. In addition, the mixture was associated with a significant fall in blood pressure between induction and intubation, whereas this was not found with gallamine.