Pancuronium muscle-relaxant activity

Muscle relaxants may also contribute to anesthesia. Pancuronium 0.1 mg/kg has been reported to lower the MAC for halothane by 25% (135). It was conjectured that this could be due to a central effect or peripheral effect, through reduction of afferent input from muscle spindles to the reticular activating system. Recently, however, a similar though not identical study (SEDA-15, 124) (136) failed to confirm that pancuronium, vecuronium, or atracurium lowers the MAC for halothane. 

Interestingly, anticholinesterases, ACH and ion antagonize competitively pancuronium bromide effectively however, its activity is virtually enhanced by general anaesthetics, for instance halothane, ether, enflurane etc. (see Chapter 4). Therefore, the latter substantial potentiation in pharmacological activity is particularly useful to the anaesthetist due to the faet that it is administered invariably as an adjunct to the anaesthetic procedure in order to cause simultaneous relaxation of the skeletal muscle. 

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