Spinal anesthesia for patients with progressive muscular dystrophy
O'Higashi, T.; Shirakami, G.; Sasai, S.; Shinomura, T.; Kato, S.; Tomoda, K.
Masui. Japanese Journal of Anesthesiology 44(5): 723-728
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0021-4892 PMID: 7609304 Document Number: 447657
Spinal anesthesia was applied on 8 occasions to 7 patients with progressive muscular dystrophy (PMD) undergoing orthopedic lower limb surgery, No postoperative complication occurred in all patients. During the operations, however, two patients were subjected to high spinal anesthesia, which caused ventilatory suppression in one patient and bronchial asthma attack in another. Both respiratory complications were easily managed by ventilatory assistance with endotracheal intubation or by administration of bronchodilator, respectively. High spinal anesthesia should be avoided in applying spinal anesthesia to patients with PMD.