| Information for
patients
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| Drug Information |
Vecuronium bromide is one of a group of drugs called muscle relaxants.Muscle relaxants are used during an operation as part of a general anaesthetic. When you have an operation your muscles must be completely relaxed. This makes it easier for the surgeon to perform the operation.Normally, your nerves send messages called impulses to your muscles. Vecuronium bromide acts by blocking these impulses so that your muscles relax. Because your breathing muscles also relax, you will need help to breathe (artificial ventilation) during and after your operation until you can breathe on your own again.During the operation your anaesthetist will keep a check on the effect of the muscle relaxant, and if necessary will give you some more. At the end of surgery, the effects of the drug are allowed to wear off and you will start breathing on your own. Sometimes the anaesthetist will give you another drug to help speed this up. |
| Drug Alert |
| Alert |
if you are allergic (hypersensitive) to vecuronium, the bromide ion or any of the other ingredients of Vecuronium bromide. |
| Before Consuming
the Medicine
|
| Avoid Drug |
Your anaesthetist needs to know before you receive this medicine:
if you are allergic to muscle relaxants
if you have had kidney, heart, liver or gall bladder disease
if you have had diseases affecting nerves and muscles
if you have fluid retention (oedema) |
| Drug Special Care |
low calcium levels in the blood
low potassium levels in the blood
high magnesium levels in the blood
low levels of protein in the blood
too much carbon dioxide in the blood
loss of too much water from the body, for example by being sick, diarrhoea or sweating
over-breathing leading to too little carbon dioxide in the blood (alkalosis)
general ill-health
burns
being very overweight (obesity)
very low body temperature (hypothermia).
If you have any of these conditions, your anaesthetist will take into account when deciding the correct dose of Vecuronium bromide for you |
| Drug Drug Interactions |
? Tell your anaesthetist if you are taking other medicines or have recently taken them. This includes medicines or herbal products that you have bought without a prescription. Vecuronium bromide may affect other medicines or be affected by them.
Medicines which increase the effect of Vecuronium bromide:
certain antibiotics
certain medicines for heart disease or high blood pressure (water tablets, calcium channel blockers,beta-blockers and quinidine)
certain anti-inflammatory medicines (corticosteroids)
medicines for manic depressive illness (bipolar disorder)
magnesium salts
the medicine called cimetidine, used to treat stomach ulcers, heartburn or acid reflux.
Medicines which decrease the effect of Vecuronium bromide:
certain medicines for epilepsy.
calcium chloride and potassium chloride
In addition, you may be given other medicines before or during surgery which can alter the effects of Vecuronium bromide. These include certain anaesthetics, other muscle relaxants, medicines such as phenytoin and medicines which reverse the effects of Vecuronium bromide. Vecuronium bromide may make certain anaesthetics work more quickly. Your anaesthetist will take this into account when deciding the correct dose of Vecuronium bromide for you. |
| Drug Pregnancy Interaction |
Your anaesthetist may still give you Vecuronium bromide, but you need to discuss it first. Vecuronium bromide may be given to you if you are having a Caesarean section. |
| Drug Breast feeding Interaction |
Your anaesthetist may still give you Vecuronium bromide, but you need to discuss it first. Vecuronium bromide may be given to you if you are having a Caesarean section. |
| Drug Machinery Interaction |
Do not drive or use machines until advised it is safe to do so. Because Vecuronium bromide is given as part of a general anaesthetic, you may feel tired, weak or dizzy for some time afterwards. Your anaesthetist will be able to advise you on how long the effects are likely to last. |
| Drug More Information |
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| How to take the
Medicine
|
| Consumption Info |
|
| Drug quanitty |
Your anaesthetist will work out the dose of Vecuronium bromide you need based on:
the type of anaesthetic
the expected length of the operation
other drugs you are taking
your state of health.
The normal dose is 80 – 100 micrograms per kg body weight and the effect will last 24 – 60 minutes. For infants the anaesthetist will adjust the dose as appropriate |
| Drug Dose |
Vecuronium bromide will be given to you by your anaesthetist. Vecuronium bromide is given intravenously (into a vein), either as single injections or as a continuous infusion (a drip). |
| Excess Drug Consumption |
As your anaesthetist will be monitoring your condition carefully it is unlikely that you will be given too much Vecuronium bromide. However if this happens, your anaesthetist will keep you breathing artificially (on a ventilator) until you can breathe on your own. You will be kept asleep while this takes place. |
| Forgot Drug Consumption |
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| Stop Drug Consumption |
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| Possible Side
Effects
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| General Information |
|
| Common Drug Side Effects |
|
| Rare Drug Side Effects |
the drug is too effective, or not effective enough
the drug works for longer than expected
lowering of blood pressure
increase in heart rate. |
| Very Rare Drug Side Effects |
allergic (hypersensitivity) reactions (such as difficulty in breathing, collapse of the circulation and shock) wheezing of the chest
muscle weakness
swelling, a rash or redness of the skin
pain near the site of injection. |
| Drug Side Effects Symptoms |
|
| How to Store the
Medicine
|
| How to Store the Medicine |
The hospital will keep Vecuronium bromide according to the correct storage conditions. |
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