en Anesthesiology Anesthesiology Original Article Original Article <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height:14pt"><b><i><span style="color:blue">Background</span></i></b><i><span style="color:blue">: </span></i><span lang="EN-GB">Post-operative residual curarization is a persisting problem, characterized by muscle fatigue, exhaustion or paresis, caused by the use of neuromuscular blocking agents with prolonged postoperative effect. </span><span lang="EN-GB">Genetically, determined changes in cholinesterase activity can be a major reason for persistent muscle blockade after administration of muscle relaxants</span>.</span><br> <span style="line-height:14pt"><b><i><span style="color:blue">Methods: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB">Regarding the subsistence of polymorphisms in the plasma cholinesterase gene causing change in enzyme activity and metabolism of applied drugs, we investigated the frequency of two polymorphisms known to reduce its activity significantly in patients undergoing surgery</span>.<span style="font-size:10.0pt"></span></span><br> <span style="line-height:14pt"><b><i><span style="color:blue">Results: </span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB">Primary results show a relatively high occurrence of plasma cholinesterase K risk allele (18.75%).</span></span><br> <span style="line-height:14pt"><b><i><span style="color:blue">Conclusion</span></i></b><i><span style="color:blue">: </span></i><span lang="EN-GB">Characterization of the lacking information about genetic background of changes in plasma cholinesterase activity within Slovakia may allow for easier decision-making in clinical practice when selecting alternative neuromuscular blocking and also reversal agents</span>.<span style="font-size:10.0pt"></span></span></span></span><br> <br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black"></span></span></span></span></p> butyrylcholinesterase, cholinesterase, neuromuscular blocker, polymorphism, residual curarization 490 494 http://caspjim.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2628-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Lukáš Čuchráč lukascuchrac@gmail.com 100319475328460043028 100319475328460043028 No 1st Clinic of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Louis Pasteur University Hospital in Košice, and Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Slovak Republic Marta Mydlárová Blaščáková mydlarovablascakova@gmail.com 100319475328460043029 100319475328460043029 No Department of Biology, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Prešov in Prešov, Slovak Republic Jozef Firment jozef.firment@upjs.sk 100319475328460043030 100319475328460043030 No 1st Clinic of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Louis Pasteur University Hospital in Košice, and Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Slovak Republic Jana Šimonová jana.simonova@upjs.sk 100319475328460043031 100319475328460043031 No 1st Clinic of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Louis Pasteur University Hospital in Košice, and Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Slovak Republic Jarmila Bernasovská jarmila.bernasovska@unipo.sk 100319475328460043032 100319475328460043032 No Department of Biology, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Prešov in Prešov, Slovak Republic Janka Vašková janka.vaskova@upjs.sk 100319475328460043033 100319475328460043033 Yes Department of Medical and Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Slovak Republic