The frequency of post-suxamethonium pain after pretreatment with small doses of non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents was studied in 299 patients. Gallamine 10 and 20 mg, tubocurarine 5 mg and pancuronium 1 mg were equally effective when a 2-min interval was allowed between their injection and suxamethonium administration. Fazadinium was ineffective and caused difficulty with intubation. No evidence supporting the concept that dosage should be related to patient's weight was found. Inpatients suffered from post-suxamethonium pain as much as did outpatients.

A wartime embargo on casualty figures and an imprecise contemporary editorial contributed to the persisting belief that a grossly excessive mortality rate from barbiturate anaesthesia for surgery of the injured occurred after the Japanese attack on the American bases in Hawaii in December 1941. From accounts by surgical staff and official hospital records which have become available through US Freedom of Information legislation, it is clear that the rumoured death rate from this cause has been greatly exaggerated.

In a study of 120 unpremedicated outpatients presenting for outpatient dental anaesthesia, the incidence of dysrhythmias was lower with enflurane than had previously been found with halothane (1). The intravenous use of the cardioselective beta adrenergic blocking agents practolol and metoprolol, in a dose of 0.05-0.22 and 0.16-0.17 mg/kg body weight, respectively, proved effective in the treatment of sinus tachycardia in excess of 150 beats/min and/or ventricular dysrhythmias. Although metoprolol, unlike practolol, has no intrinsic sympathetic activity, there were no side-effects related to either beta-blocker in the dosages used during enflurane anaesthesia.

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