ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: We investigated the hypothesis that pretreatment with nefopam 20 mg would influence the onset and recovery profiles of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block. METHODS: After Institutional Review Board approval, 134 patients, aged between 20–65 years, belonging to the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification I or II, were randomly allocated to receive either 0.9% normal saline (control group) or nefopam 20 mg (nefopam group), infused over one hour before induction of anesthesia. Anesthesia was induced with remifentanil and propofol, followed by endotracheal intubation with rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg. We recorded the lag time, onset time, clinical duration, recovery index, recovery time, and total recovery time. RESULTS: We included 111 patients in the final analysis. The lag time, onset time, clinical duration, recovery index, recovery time, and total recovery time of the nefopam group (n = 57) were not significantly different compared with that of the control group (n = 54). CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment with nefopam 20 mg one hour before induction of anesthesia does not have a significant influence on the onset and recovery profiles of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block.