The most frequent adverse reactions associated with use of intravenous AMIDATE are transient venous pain on injection and transient skeletal muscle movements, including myoclonus:
Skeletal muscle movements appear to be more frequent in patients who also manifest venous pain on injection.
Other Adverse Observations
Respiratory System
Hyperventilation, hypoventilation, apnea of short duration (5 to 90 seconds with spontaneous recovery); laryngospasm, hiccup and snoring suggestive of partial upper airway obstruction have been observed in some patients. These conditions were managed by conventional countermeasures.
Circulatory System
Hypertension, hypotension, tachycardia, bradycardia and other arrhythmias have occasionally been observed during induction and maintenance of anesthesia. One case of severe hypotension and tachycardia, judged to be anaphylactoid in character, has been reported.
Geriatric patients, particularly those with hypertension, may be at increased risk for the development of cardiac depression following etomidate administration (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY).
Gastrointestinal System
Postoperative nausea and/or vomiting following induction of anesthesia with etomidate is probably no more frequent than the general incidence. When etomidate was used for both induction and maintenance of anesthesia in short procedures such as dilation and curettage, or when insufficient analgesia was provided, the incidence of postoperative nausea and/or vomiting was higher than that noted in control patients who received thiopental.