Dantrolene in the Indian Operating Theatre: An Unmet and Overdue Necessity

Abstract

Every time we open a vial of succinylcholine or turn on a volatile agent, we are, in a small way, betting that malignant hyperthermia (MH) will not happen today. It is rare, but when it does happen, it moves fast, and the only thing that reliably turns the tide is dantrolene. Give it in time and a patient who is spiralling into fever, rigidity, and cardiac chaos will very likely walk out of the hospital. Without it, that same patient has roughly a 70% chance of dying. This is why, in most Western countries, having dantrolene in the operating theatre is not treated as optional. In India, it very often still is.