Succinylcholine and intraocular pressure.

Thirty-one patients (61 eyes) had a rise in intraocular pressure averaging 8.2 mm Hg following the use of succinylcholine as a muscle relaxant prior to general anesthesia. Just prior to the start of surgery (an average of 14 minutes following Anectine administration), the tension had returned to the control level. Ten patients (20 eyes) had pancuronium used without succinylcholine. No change in intraocular tension was noted with this agent and pressure remained unchanged at the start of surgery. Work of other investigators, using the "spring back balance" test and strain gauge force measurement to rotate the globe, indicate that the effect of Anectine upon the extraocular muscles may take 20 to 30 minutes to wear off. This is long after the return of intraocular pressure to control values and suggests that monitoring of intraocular tension may not be accurate method of assessing the action of Anectine upon the eye muscles. The mechanism of increased fluid outflow, not muscle relaxation, probably accounts for this lowering of intraocular pressure.