Patient safety during rapid sequence intubation when using succinylcholine instead of nondepolarizing paralytic agents: Should we change a common rapid sequence intubation pathway ?

Conclusions: While the succinylcholine adverse effect profile is concerning, data from our institution does not support removal of the agent as an available option for RSI as the mortality rate among patients receiving succinylcholine was lower than that of patients receiving non-depolarizing agents. Patient level data will be needed in future work to further understand why the all-cause mortality rate was higher in the group receiving rocuronium or vecuronium and whether those patients had increased risk of mortality from underlying disease at time of presentation.
Source: Journal of Emergencies, Trauma and Shock - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Source Type: research