Atypical pseudocholinesterase: a clinical report.

The safe conduct of anesthesia demands careful evaluation of the previous experience of patients under anesthesia and surgical operation, as well as that of their families. Untoward responses that may recur with subsequent anesthetic procedures should be documented and patients informed, as the need dictates. Two cases of prolonged apnea following single intubating doses of succinylcholine could not have been predicted by the patient's preanesthetic history. As a result of these problems, the authors recommend more careful preanesthetic history-taking with reference to patients' prior anesthetic experiences.