Suxamethonium resistance

Intolerance. Here, a patient shows a qualitatively normal response to the drug, but at an abnormally low dose. This may simply be a resp9nse at the extreme of the normal range of variation. The Gaussian distribution of response to a drug includes individuals who are unusually sensitive as well as those who are resistant. On the other hand, the response to some drugs shows two or more genetically determined populations, e.g. the response to suxamethonium in normal persons and in those with abnormal variants of cholinesterase. 

Resistance to suxamethonium. This rare condition is characterised by increased pseudocholinesterase activity and failure of normal doses of suxamethonium to cause muscular relaxation (cf Cholinesterase deficiency, above). 

Resistance to suxamethonium has been seen in von Recklinghausen s disease (4) and nemaline myopathy (5). 

Prolonged paralysis after suxamethonium has also been reported in von Recklinghausen s disease (98), but resistance to suxamethonium has also been seen (4). 

In myasthenia gravis responses to suxamethonium are unpredictable (265-268). Resistance has been reported and the development of a phase II block can occur more readily, occasionally leading to prolonged paralysis. The measures used to treat the condition, for example... 

An isolated report describes marked resistance to the effects of suxamethonium (succinylcholine) and vecuronium, apparently due to the long-term use of testosterone. Another case reports resistance to vecuronium in a patient with elevated plasma testosterone levels. 

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