treatment
Last reviewed 01/2018
Treatment consists of discontinuation of the precipitating agent. Intravenous dantrum - dantrolene sodium and mannitol - may be used to control the rigidity. Dantrolene is thought to impede calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum to cytosol within skeletal muscle. Thus, it uncouples excitation and contraction.
The patient is cooled. Hyperkalaemia and acidosis is corrected. Any arrhythmias are treated. Prophylaxis entails avoidance of volatile agents or the given cause of the last attack, and pretreatment with dantrolene. For the patient susceptible to malignant hyperpyrexia, this regimen has reduced mortality from more than 70% to about 5%.