ADVERSE REACTIONS
The most frequent adverse reaction to nondepolarizing blocking agents as a class consists of an extension of the drug’s pharmacological action beyond the time period needed. This may vary from skeletal muscle weakness to profound and prolonged skeletal muscle paralysis resulting in respiration insufficiency or apnea.
Inadequate reversal of the neuromuscular blockade is possible with vecuronium as with all curariform drugs. These adverse reactions are managed by manual or mechanical ventilation until recovery is judged adequate. Little or no increase in intensity of blockade or duration of action with vecuronium is noted from the use of thiobarbiturates, narcotic analgesics, nitrous oxide, or droperidol. See OVERDOSAGE for discussion of other drugs used in anesthetic practice which also cause respiratory depression.
Prolonged to profound extensions of paralysis and/or muscle weakness as well as muscle atrophy have been reported after long-term use to support mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (see PRECAUTIONS). The administration of vecuronium has been associated with rare instances of hypersensitivity reactions (bronchospasm, hypotension and/or tachycardia, sometimes associated with acute urticaria or erythema); (see also CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY).
There have been post-marketing reports of severe allergic reactions (anaphylactic and anaphylactoid reactions) associated with use of neuromuscular blocking agents, including vecuronium bromide. These reactions, in some cases, have been life-threatening and fatal. Because these reactions were reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not possible to reliably estimate their frequency (see WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS).