Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of muscle relaxants on motor evoked potentials (MEPs) monitoring during intracranial surgery. Methods 62 patients with neurological tumor were divided into 2 groups: muscle relaxant group (n=21) and non-muscle relaxant group (n=41). The incidence of successful MEPs monitoring was investigated. Results The incidence of successful MEPs monitoring was 76.2% in the muscle relaxant group and 41.5% in the non-muscle relaxant group (P<0.05). Conclusion Muscle relaxants can affect the MEP monitoring, which would not be administered as possible during anesthesia for intracranial surgery in functional area.

Key words: neurological tumor, intracranial surgery, functional area, anesthesia, muscle relaxants, motor evoked potentials (MEPs), monitoring