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Vecuronium is used to relax the muscles. It works by blocking the signals between your nerves and your muscles. Vecuronium is given before general anesthesia in preparing you for surgery. Vecuronium helps keep your body still during surgery. It also relaxes your throat so a breathing tube can be more easily inserted before the surgery. Vecuronium may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.
Before receiving vecuronium, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have kidney disease, heart disease or congestive heart failure, problems with circulation, or a nerve-muscle disorder such as ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), MS (multiple sclerosis), or muscular dystrophy. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breast-feeding. It may take you longer to recover from the effects of vecuronium if you have cirrhosis or other liver disease. Follow your doctor's instructions about any restrictions on food, beverages, or activity after you recover from anesthesia.
You should not receive this medication if you are allergic to vecuronium. Before receiving vecuronium, tell your doctor if you are allergic to any drugs, or if you have: myasthenia gravis; cirrhosis or other liver disease; a history of kidney disease; heart disease or congestive heart failure; problems with circulation; or a nerve-muscle disorder such as ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), MS (multiple sclerosis), or muscular dystrophy.
If you have any of these conditions, you may not be able to receive vecuronium, or you may need dosage adjustments or special tests during treatment. FDA pregnancy category C. This medication may be harmful to an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment. Before receiving vecuronium, tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.
Vecuronium is given as an injection through a needle placed into a vein or muscle. You will receive this injection in a hospital or surgical setting. Your caregivers will monitor your heart function, blood pressure, and breathing while you are under the effects of vecuronium. It may take you longer to recover from the effects of vecuronium if you have cirrhosis or other liver disease.
Since vecuronium is usually given just for anesthesia, you are not likely to be on a dosing schedule.
An overdose of vecuronium is unlikely to occur since the medication is given by a doctor. Your vital signs will be closely watched while you are under anesthesia to make sure the medication is not causing any harmful effects.
Follow your doctor's instructions about any restrictions on food, beverages, or activity after you recover from anesthesia.
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Tell your caregivers right away if you have any of these serious side effects: Less serious side effects may include: feeling light-headed; or itching.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Usual Adult Dose for Anesthesia: Intravenous bolus: 0.08 to 0.1 mg/kg/dose repeated every hour as needed
Continuous infusion: 0 .8 to 1.2 mcg/kg/minute Usual Pediatric Dose for not applicable: Neonates:
Initial dose: 0.1 mg/kg/dose
Maintenance dose: 0.03 to 0.15 mg/kg/dose every 1 to 2 hours as needed
Infants > 7 weeks to 1 year:
Intravenous bolus: 0.1 mg/kg/dose repeated every hour as needed
Continuous infusion: 1 to 1.5 mcg/kg/minute
Children > 1 year:
Intravenous bolus: 0.1 mg/kg/dose repeated every hour as needed
Continuous infusion: 1.5 to 2.5 mcg/kg/minute
There may be other drugs that can interact with vecuronium. Tell your doctor about all your prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors.
- Your doctor or pharmacist can provide more information about vecuronium.
- Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
Copyright 1996-2006 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 1.04. Revision Date: 4/12/2009 4:37:23 PM.;
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