Suxamethonium induced myalgia and the effect of pre-operative administration of oral aspirin

Eighty-four fit, unpremedicated patients who presented for routine surgery and received a standard anaesthetic technique were allocated randomly to three equal groups. Group 1 received tubocurarine 0.05 mg/kg before induction of anaesthesia. Group 2 received soluble aspirin 600 mg orally one hour before surgery, while Group 3 received no pretreatment. Aspirin prophylaxis produced a significant reduction in the incidence of subsequent suxamethonium-induced myalgia and the improvement was similar to that achieved with tubocurarine pretreatment. Pre-operative oral administration of aspirin effectively reduces muscle pains and avoids many of the complications associated with pretreatment with non-depolarising agents.