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Abstract
The stability of 20-mg/mL succinylcholine chloride injection in 12-mL polypropylene syringes stored at ambient temperature and 4 deg C for up to 90 days was investigated. Concentration levels of succinylcholine chloride injection were determined at 0, 1, 4, 7, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 days after preparation of the syringes by means of a high-performance liquid chromatographic stability-indicating assay. Methylparaben, which was added as a preservative, did not interfere with the assay. The loss in potency was less than 10% after 45 days of storage at 25 deg C and less than 1% after 90 days of storage at 4 deg C. The pH of succinylcholine chloride injection did not change appreciably during the 90-day study period.
Introduction
Succinylcholine chloride (Figure 1) is a depolarizing skeletal muscle relaxant.1 Because succinylcholine chloride injection at a concentration of 20 mg/mL is not available in prepackaged syringes, hospital pharmacies aseptically preload succinylcholine chloride into sterile syringes and store the resultant dosage form for short periods at room, refrigerator, or freezer temperature. Although such storage may adversely affect drug potency, prefilled syringes save time and are cost-effective because materials that might be wasted are instead conserved.2-4 Because of the potential that drug potency might be affected by such storage, it was important to assess the stability of succinylcholine chloride in polypropylene syringes. A stability study5 previously indicated that succinylcholine chloride (20 mg/mL) in 0.9% sodium chloride or dextrose injection stored in polypropylene syringes and protected from light was stable for 107 days at 4 deg C and for 90 days at 25 deg C. Another study6 showed that succinylcholine chloride injections (10 mg/mL) containing sodium chloride, methyl-4-hydroxybenzoate, hydrochloric acid, and water prepared by a hospital pharmacy were stable for 5 months at 25 degi C and for 23 months at 4 deg C. In another study,7 it was concluded that succinylcholine chloride injection stored in polypropylene syringes was stable for 45 days at 2 deg C and at 4 deg C. Stability studies for undiluted succinylcholine chloride injection stored in polypropylene syringes for 90 days at ambient temperature under continuous fluorescent light and at 4 deg C are not available. The goal of this study was to investigate the stability of 20-mg/mL succinylcholine chloride...