This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Go to /pro/cpd-dashboard page

This page is worth 0.05 CPD credits. CPD dashboard

Go to /account/subscription-details page

This page is worth 0.05 CPD credits. Upgrade to Pro

Pseudocholinesterase

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Pseudocholinesterase describes a family of enzymes produced mainly in the liver but widely found in:

  • plasma
  • liver
  • skin
  • gastrointestinal tract

It hydrolyses esters e.g. procaine and suxamethonium. It can occur as a number of variants, dependent on four alleles, with variable degrees of cholinesterase function. The nature of the variants determines sensitivity to suxamethonium; the extreme is pseudocholinesterase deficiency.

Pseudocholinesterases are irreversibly inhibited by organophosphate compounds; the reduction in plasma activity is a means of monitoring exposure of individuals to organophosphates.


Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.