BACKGROUND: Rocuronium produces various withdrawal responses if administered after the loss of consciousness. We investgated the incidence of withdrawal response after injecting rocuronium in children and adults.

METHODS: We evaluated 60 in-patients divided (30 children, 30 adults) undergoing general anesthesia for various elective surgeries. The patients were into two groups of 30 patients each in the prospective study; group I (children, n = 30), group II (adults, n = 30). After the induction of anesthesia with 5 mg/kg of thiopental sodium, rocuronium (0.6 mg/kg) was injected over 10 seconds, intravenously through a cannula. Patient's response after injection was graded using a four-point scale.

RESULTS: The incidences of withdrawal response were 90% and 33.3% in groups I and II, respectively. Moderate to severe movement was observed in 80.0% and 20.0% of groups I and II, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and the degree of withdrawal response after rocuronium injection were higher in children than in adults.