Electromyographic Activity of the Respiratory Muscles During Neostigmine or Sugammadex Enhanced Recovery After Neuromuscular Blockade

It was recently shown that neostigmine reversal was associated with increased atelectasis and that high-dose neostigmine was associated with longer postoperative length of stay and with an increased incidence of pulmonary edema and reintubation. These study results were consistent with findings from a previous epidemiological study which revealed an absence of beneficial effects of neostigmine on postoperative oxygenation and reintubation. In our previous study, the effects of neostigmine / glycopyrrolate and sugammadex on the electromyographic activity of the diaphragm showed beneficial effects for sugammadex. This could be explained by a possible effect on neuromuscular transmission at the muscle level, but can also be explained by a neostigmine-induced decrease in total nerve activity. In a study in cats, neostigmine has been shown to reduce efferent phrenic nerve activity. The investigators aim to show a difference in phrenic nerve activity between neostigmine and sugammadex, administered alone or in combination, in healthy male volunteers.