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Vecuronium bromide 10 mg powder for solution for injection/infusion

Active Ingredient:
vecuronium bromide
Company:  
Neon Healthcare Ltd See contact details
ATC code: 
M03AC03
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About Medicine
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Prescription only medicine
Healthcare Professionals (SmPC) Patient Leaflet (PIL)
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The Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) is the leaflet included in the pack with a medicine.
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Last updated on emc: 25 Nov 2025
{pdf} View or print the patient leaflet as PDF

Below is a text only representation of the Patient Information Leaflet (ePIL).

The text only version may be available in large print, Braille or audio CD. For further information call emc accessibility on {phone} 0800 198 5000. The product code(s) for this leaflet is: PL 45043/0107.

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Vecuronium bromide 10 mg powder for solution for injection/infusion

Package leaflet: Information for the patient

Vecuronium bromide 10 mg powder for solution for injection/infusion

vecuronium bromide

Read all of this leaflet carefully before you are given this medicine because it contains important information for you.
  • Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
  • If you have any further questions, ask your anaesthetist or other doctor.
  • If you get any side effects, talk to your anaesthetist or doctor. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. See section 4.

What is in this leaflet

1. What Vecuronium bromide is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before Vecuronium bromide is given to you
3. How Vecuronium bromide is given
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Vecuronium bromide
6. Contents of the pack and other information

1. What Vecuronium bromide is and what it is used for

Vecuronium bromide is one of a group of drugs called muscle relaxants.

Muscle relaxants are used during an operation as part of a general anaesthetic. When you have an operation your muscles must be completely relaxed. This makes it easier for the surgeon to perform the operation. Vecuronium bromide is used as a muscle relaxant in adults, in children and adolescents (2-17 years) and in new born babies and infants (0 days –23 months).

Normally, your nerves send messages called impulses to your muscles. Vecuronium bromide acts by blocking these impulses so that your muscles relax. Because your breathing muscles also relax, you will need help to breathe (artificial ventilation) during and after your operation until you can breathe on your own again.

During the operation your anaesthetist will keep a check on the effect of the muscle relaxant, and if necessary will give you some more. At the end of surgery, the effects of the drug are allowed to wear off and you will start breathing on your own. Sometimes the anaesthetist will give you another drug to help speed this up.

2. What you need to know before Vecuronium bromide is given to you
You should not be given Vecuronium bromide
  • if you are allergic to vecuronium, the bromide ion or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6).

Tell your anaesthetist if this applies to you.

Warnings and precautions

Talk to your anaesthetist before you receive Vecuronium bromide.

  • if you are allergic to muscle relaxants
  • if you have reduced renal function or a renal disease
  • if you have had heart disease or a disease affecting your blood circulation
  • if you have accumulation of fluid beneath the skin (for example swelling of the ankles)
  • if you have a liver or a gallbladder disease
  • if you have had diseases affecting nerves and muscles (for example polio (poliomyelitis), myasthenia gravis, Eaton-Lambert syndrome)

Tell your anaesthetist if any of these applies to you.

Some conditions may influence the effects of Vecuronium bromide, for example:

  • low calcium levels in the blood (hypocalcaemia; caused by blood transfusion)
  • low potassium levels in the blood (hypokalaemia; caused for example by severe vomiting or by severe diarrhoea)
  • high magnesium levels in the blood (hypermagnesaemia)
  • low levels of protein in the blood (hypoproteinaemia)
  • too much acid in the blood or body tissue (acidosis)
  • too much carbon dioxide in the blood (hypercapnia)
  • loss of too much water from the body, for example by being sick, diarrhoea or sweating (dehydration)
  • over-breathing (hyper ventilation) leading to too little carbon dioxide in the blood (alkalosis)
  • general ill-health (cachexia)
  • burns
  • being very overweight (obesity)
  • very low body temperature (hypothermia) during anaesthesia

If you have any of these conditions, your anaesthetist will take this into account when deciding the correct dose of Vecuronium bromide for you.

Other medicines and Vecuronium bromide

Tell your anaesthetist or doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken, or might take, any other medicines. Vecuronium bromide may affect other medicines or be affected by them.

Medicines which increase the effect of Vecuronium bromide:

  • certain medicines used to make you sleep during surgery (anaesthetics; for example suxamethonium)
  • certain medicines to treat bacterial infections (antibiotics; for example aminoglycosides, lincosamide and polypeptide antibiotics, acylamino-pencillin antibiotics)
  • medicines which increase the amount of urine (diuretics or water tablets)
  • certain medicines for heart disease or high blood pressure (calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers and quinidine)
  • long-term concomitant use of certain anti-inflammatory medicines (corticosteroids)
  • medicines used to treat mania, manic depressive illness (bipolar disorder) or depression (lithium)
  • some laxatives such as magnesium salts
  • the medicine called cimetidine, used to treat stomach ulcers, heartburn or acid reflux
  • certain medicines for reducing pain (local anaesthetics; for example (lidocaine)
  • short-term concomitant use of certain medicines used for epilepsy (phenytoin).

Medicines which decrease the effect of Vecuronium bromide:

  • chronic use of medicines for epilepsy (phenytoin, carbamazepine)
  • calcium chloride and potassium chloride.

Medicines with variable effect

  • other muscle relaxants

Effect of Vecuronium on other drugs

  • Vecuronium may make certain anaesthetics (for example lidocaine) work more quickly.

Your anaesthetist will take this into account when deciding the correct dose of Vecuronium for you.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding

Tell your anaesthetist if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby.

Your anaesthetist may still give you Vecuronium bromide, but you need to discuss it first. Vecuronium bromide may be given to you if you are having a Caesarean section.

Driving and using machines

Do not drive or use machines until advised it is safe to do so. Because Vecuronium bromide is given as part of a general anaesthetic, you may feel tired, weak or dizzy for some time afterwards. Your anaesthetist will be able to advise you on how long the effects are likely to last.

Vecuronium bromide contains sodium

This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per vial, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.

3. How Vecuronium bromide is given

Vecuronium bromide will be given to you by your anaesthetist. Vecuronium bromide is given intravenously (into a vein), either as single injections or as a continuous infusion (a drip).

The dose

Vecuronium bromide can be used in adults and children of all ages including infants and newborns. The dose will be determined by the anaesthetist.

The normal dose is 80 – 100 micrograms per kg body weight and the effect will last 24 - 60 minutes.

During the procedure it will be checked whether Vecuronium bromide is still working.

You may be given additional doses if they are needed. The dose that you receive will depend on various factors. These include

  • the type of anaesthetic
  • the expected length of the operation
  • other drugs you are taking
  • your state of health
  • your age.

If you receive more Vecuronium bromide than you should

As your anaesthetist will be monitoring your condition carefully it is unlikely that you will be given too much Vecuronium bromide. However if this happens, your anaesthetist will keep you breathing artificially (on a ventilator) until you can breathe on your own. It is possible to counteract the effects of (too much) Vecuronium bromide and speed-up your recovery by giving you a drug that reverses the effect of Vecuronium bromide. You will be kept asleep while this takes place.

If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your anaesthetist or other doctor.

4. Possible side effects

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. If these side effects occur while you are under anaesthetic, they will be seen and treated by your anaesthetist.

Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people)

  • the medicine is too effective, or not effective enough
  • the medicine works for longer than expected
  • lowering of blood pressure
  • increase in heart rate
  • delayed recovery from anaesthesia.

Very rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people)

  • allergic (hypersensitivity) reactions (such as rash, itching, difficulty in breathing, swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue)
  • muscle weakness or paralysis
  • failure of circulation (circulatory collapse and shock)
  • excessive blushing
  • tightness of the chest, associated with coughing, wheezing or breathlessness immediately after inhalation (bronchospasm) rapid swelling under the skin (angioneurotic oedema)
  • swelling of the face (face oedema)
  • pain near the site of injection
  • airway complication due to anaesthesia.
  • prolonged muscle disorder usually seen after the use of Vecuronium in combination with steroids (corticosteroids including an inflammatory effect) in severe ill patients (steroid myopathy).

Reporting of side effects

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or anaesthetist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

5. How to store Vecuronium bromide

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.

Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton and vial after EXP. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.

This medicinal product does not require any special storage conditions.

Do not use vecuronium bromide when the solution after reconstitution contains particles or is not clear.

Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.

6. Contents of the pack and other information
What Vecuronium bromide contains
  • The active substance is vecuronium bromide. Each vial contains 10 mg of vecuronium bromide.
  • The other ingredients are citric acid anhydrous, disodium hydrogen orthophosphate anhydrous and mannitol (E421).

What Vecuronium bromide looks like and contents of the pack

Vecuronium bromide is a white powder for solution for injection/infusion. There are 1 or 10 glass vials of vecuronium bromide in each pack.

Not all pack sizes may be marketed.

Marketing Authorisation Holder and Manufacturer

Marketing Authorisation Holder

Neon Healthcare Ltd
8 The Chase
John Tate Road
Hertford
SG13 7NN
UK

Manufacturer

DREHM Pharma GmbH
Gruenbergstrasse 15/3/3
1120 Vienna
Austria

This leaflet was last revised in November 2025

Neon Healthcare Ltd
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Address
8 The Chase, John Tate Road, Foxholes Business Park, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG13 7NN, UK
WWW
http://www.neonhealthcare.com
Telephone
+44 (0)1992 926 330
Medical Information Direct Line
+44 (0)1992 926 330
Medical Information e-mail
[email protected]
Customer Care direct line
+44 (0)1992 926 330
Stock Availability
[email protected]
Stock Availability
+44 (0)1992 926 330