Is Etomidate Safe?
Maya S. Suresh, MD, and Thomas E. Nelson, PhD Department of Anesthesiology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas. Abstract The safety of etomidate for induction of anesthesia in malignant hyperthermia-susceptible (MHS) pigs was evaluated in a two-phase experiment. Two litters of Purebred Poland China pigs, one MHS (n = 4) and the other malignant hyperthermia-resistant (MHR) (n = 4) were used. Phase I compared MHS vs MHR animals in terms of cardiovascular, metabolic, and skeletal muscle rigidity responses to etomidate and fentanyl anesthesia and to a subsequent malignant hyperthermia (MH) challenge with halothane–succinylcholine. When three of the four criteria for the diagnosis of MH occurred (rigidity, tachycardia, or increases in temperature or end-tidal CO2) in an animal, phase I was terminated. In phase II, only the MHS animals were used and experimental procedures were as in phase I except thiopental replaced etomidate. In phase I, evidence was inadequate to su
