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Benzodiazepines and Muscle Relaxants

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Essentials of Pharmacology for Anesthesia, Pain Medicine, and Critical Care

Abstract

Benzodiazepines have gained growing popularity as its physiology and pharmacology have become better understood, allowing for drugs of varying potency and duration of action to be developed for a wide range of clinical applications. Muscle relaxants are a diverse group of drugs designed to treat pain related to muscle spasms or spasticity. While benzodiazepines and muscle relaxants are generally well tolerated, there are serious side effects and toxicity that practitioners must be aware of, as well as abuse potential.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, Pain, and Perioperative Care, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Joyce C. Lo MD

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, Tulane Medical Center, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Alan David Kaye MD, PhD

  3. Department of Anesthesiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Alan David Kaye MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Joyce C. Lo MD
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  2. Alan David Kaye MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joyce C. Lo MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Alan David Kaye

  2. Department of Pharmacy Practice, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Stockton, California, USA

    Adam M. Kaye

  3. Center for Perioperative Management and Medical Informatics, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Richard D. Urman

Chemical Structures

Chemical Structures

Chemical Structure 10.1
figure 1

Baclofen

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Chemical Structure 10.2
figure 2

Cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride

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Chemical Structure 10.3
figure 3

Dantrolene sodium

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Chemical Structure 10.4
figure 4

Tizanidine

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Chemical Structure 10.5
figure 5

Orphenadrine citrate

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Lo, J.C., Kaye, A.D. (2015). Benzodiazepines and Muscle Relaxants. In: Kaye, A., Kaye, A., Urman, R. (eds) Essentials of Pharmacology for Anesthesia, Pain Medicine, and Critical Care. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8948-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8948-1_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-8947-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-8948-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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