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Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 28, 591-596, Copyright © 1981 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

The Effect of Intravenous Diazepam on Rise of Intraocular Pressure Following Succinylcholine

ANTHONY J. CUNNINGHAM 1, ODETTE ALBERT 2, JAMES CAMERON 2, and A. G. WATSON 2

1 Department of Anaesthesia; Health Science Centre General Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario
2 Department of Ophthalmology; Ottawa Health Science Centre General Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario

Address Correspondence to: Dr. A.J. Cunningham, Department of Anaesthesia, Ottawa Health Science Centre General Hospital, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L6

Because succinylcholine raises intraocular pressure, its use to facilitate tracheal intubation for ocular surgery, especially in emergency open-eye cases, has been a controversial topic among anaesthetists for more than two decades. In recent years, intravenous diazepam pretreatment before succinylcholine has been reported to reduce the untoward side effects of myalgia, and elevation of serum potassium and creatine phosphokinase. This study was designed to assess the effect of pretreatment with intravenous diazepam 0.1 mg·kg-1 on control (base-line) intraocular pressure and to determine if such pretreatment diminished the rise in intraocular pressure following the standard anaesthesia induction sequence of thiopentone 3-5 mg·kg-1 and succinylcholine 1 mg·kg-1, followed by tracheal intubation. Such diazepam pretreatment was shown to reduce the intraocular pressure from control levels and to diminish the rise of intraocular pressure following succinylcholine and tracheal intubation. Because succinylcholine produces rapid onset of neuromuscular block for tracheal intubation and since only minor intraocular pressure elevation occurs following thiopentone and succinylcholine in patients pretreated with diazepam, its use in ocular surgery, including emergency open-eye cases, can be rationally advocated. The addition of 0.6 mg·kg-1 d-tubocurarine to the diazepam pretreatment did not produce a further reduction of the increase of intraocular pressure following succinylcholine.

Key Words: EYE, intraocular pressure, succinylcholine, diazepam






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Copyright © 1981 by the Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society.