Positive and negative staircase effect during single twitch and train-of-four stimulation: a laboratory study in dogs

A positive staircase effect is well documented during neuromuscular monitoring. However, the increase in twitch amplitude may not remain stable over time. We compared the staircase phenomenon and twitch stability during single twitch (ST) or train-of-four (TOF) stimulation in anesthetized dogs. Force of contraction was measured in ten dogs. Each thoracic limb was stimulated with ST 0.1 Hz or TOF q 12 s for 25 min (random order). No neuromuscular blockers were administered. Every 5 min, ST and T1 amplitudes were compared within and between groups. Stability of twitch amplitude (<5 % change in 5 min) was also evaluated. ST and T1 amplitude increased over time without significant differences between groups. After 10 min of ST stimulation, the average ST amplitude had increased significantly to 107 %, and remained unchanged thereafter. T1 amplitude was significantly greater than baseline only at 5 (111 %) and 10 min (109 %); a decline towards baseline occurred thereafter. Stability was reached after 15 min for all dogs in the ST group, however, three dogs continued to have changes >5 % with TOF. An initial increase in ST amplitude remained stable over the observation period, but the increase in T1 amplitude during TOF was frequently followed by a decay. A stable twitch amplitude (variation <5 % in 5 min) was observed in all dogs with ST after 15 min of stimulation, which was not the case during TOF stimulation. Therefore, it appears at least in dogs, that ST might offer some advantages over T1 for measuring twitch amplitude.