Women of child-bearing age are seldom informed about the risk of contraceptive failure following exposure to the common anaesthesia drug sugammadex, new UK research suggests.

According to a survey of anaesthetists across University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust sites, almost all said they were aware of this risk yet only 30% discussed it with patients.

“Use of sugammadex is expected to rise as it becomes cheaper in the future and ensuring that women [receiving this] medicine are aware it may increase their risk of unwanted pregnancy must be a priority,” said researcher Dr Neha Passi, from the UCLH department of anaesthesiology.

Dr Passi and colleagues, who presented their findings at the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care annual meeting (Euroanaesthesia 2022) in Italy last week, surveyed 82 of their peers about their use of sugammadex, a modified gamma cyclodextrin used in the reversal of neuromuscular blockade.