Background: The 5-HT(3)-receptor antagonist ondansetron, commonly used to treat nausea and vomiting, was suspected of triggering malignant hyperthermia (MH) when a 5-year-old boy died after receiving a therapeutic dose of ondansetron. To evaluate a possible influence of ondansetron on the onset of MH, we investigated its effect on muscle specimens of MH-susceptible (MHS) and MH-nonsusceptible (MHN) individuals in vitro.
Methods: Muscle bundles of 6 MHS and 10 MHN patients were incubated in a tissue bath with ondansetron at increasing concentrations (0.1 to 300 μg/mL). Changes in resting tension and twitch height were monitored continuously. Data are reported as median and interquartile range; Mann-Whitney U test for differences between the groups (P < 0.05).
Results: Weight, length, initial resting tension, and twitch height of the muscle bundles did not significantly differ between the investigated groups. An increasing twitch amplitude after ondansetron application was observed in both groups. However, contractures developed only in MHS but not in MHN muscle at ondansetron concentrations of 50 μg/mL (MHS 2.5 [2.1 to 4.0] vs. MHN 0 [0 to 0] mN) and 100 μg/mL (18.0 [11.8 to 22.8] vs 0 [0 to 0] mN). At 300 μg/mL ondansetron, a muscular response was also observed in MHN (23.3 [20.1 to 40.1] vs 1.8 [0.3 to 4.9] mN).
Conclusions: Ondansetron induced contractures in skeletal muscle bundles in vitro. The effect was significantly higher in MHS than in MHN muscle. Because the necessary concentration of ondansetron exceeded the therapeutic plasma levels by a minimum of 500 times, a trigger potency in vivo seems unlikely.