Neuromuscular monitoring in patients with neuromuscular diseases. Options and needs

: The management of general anaesthesia in patients with neuromuscular disorders remains challenging. The underlying causes and clinical presentations of these rare heterogeneous diseases are highly variable and the only common feature is usually skeletal muscle weakness. The appropriate choice and dosage of muscle relaxants are important and an adequate monitoring of the neuromuscular blockade is obligatory. Neuromuscular monitoring can be complicated because of disease-induced alterations in neurophysiology; however, continuous monitoring of the neuromuscular blockade should be realized to accurately determine the recovery from the blockade. These patients very often have an increased risk for postoperative pulmonary complications, which increases further if a residual neuromuscular blockade is present.