Succinylcholine Is Safe for Patients on Statins

Succinylcholine and statin medications independently can cause muscle injury. To determine whether combining the two medications is deleterious, researchers prospectively compared fasciculation intensity, muscle pain scores, and blood levels of myoglobin, potassium, and creatine kinase (CK) between 38 statin users (for at least 3 months) and 32 nonusers who received succinylcholine (1.5 mg/kg) during elective surgery at a single U.S. hospital.

At baseline, statin users were older; exercised less frequently; had mean higher creatinine concentration; and had a higher prevalence of muscle pain, coronary artery disease, type II diabetes, and hyperlipidemia; baseline median myoglobin concentrations did not differ significantly between groups. In …