Anaesthesia for caesarean section in a patient with systemic amyloidosis secondary to familial Mediterranean fever

Perioperative care of the patient with a periodic fever syndrome

Periodic fever syndromes are autoinflammatory disorders associated with recurrent fevers unrelated to infection. Little is known about the perioperative management of patients with these syndromes, and existing literature consists primarily of case reports and occasional case series. This narrative review discusses background information and diagnostic criteria for the three most common periodic fever syndromes: periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, adenitis (PFAPA), familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), and TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS), and describes perioperative considerations for anesthesia providers when caring for the patient with a periodic fever syndrome. We include a systems-based framework in which to organize these considerations.

Perioperative implications of amyloidosis and amyloid cardiomyopathy: A review for anesthesiologists

It is well recognized that amyloid protein can infiltrate many regions of the body. This can include the peripheral nerves, the liver, kidney, spleen, the gastrointestinal tract, and most importantly the myocardium. The amyloid proteins that cause cardiomyopathy may come from genetically altered liver genes (transthyretin amyloid, ATTR) or from the bone marrow with malignant plasma cells (light chain amyloid, AL) generating the aberrant protein. These two types of amyloidosis cause significant damaging effects on both the myocardial cells as well as the conduction system of the heart. The resultant changes can produce dyspnea and exercise intolerance which is thought to be secondary to diastolic dysfunction and reduced stroke volume. This subclinical decompensation poses a significant problem for members of a care team as it often goes unrecognized. In the operating room patients are exposed to dramatic hemodynamic changes and may have difficult airways, autonomic dysfunction, and conduction abnormalities. Although the topic of amyloidosis is well described in cardiology literature, it is underdiagnosed. The purpose of this review is to describe some of the pathophysiology behind the principle proteins that cause cardiac amyloidosis and to comprehensively describe perioperative considerations for anesthesia providers.

The anesthetic management of children with neonatal-onset multi-system inflammatory disease

BACKGROUND

Neonatal-onset multi-system inflammatory disease (NOMID), a rare autosomal dominantly inherited disease, belongs to a growing spectrum of autoinflammatory diseases, is characterized by urticarial rash, arthropathy, and chronic aseptic meningitis, and is associated with mutations in the cold-induced autoinflammatory gene, CIAS1, the gene that encodes the protein, cryopyrin. As little is known about the anesthetic considerations of the disease, we sought to identify the main features and respective anesthetic and perioperative implications of NOMID.

METHODS

We examined perianesthetic records of children with NOMID who were anesthetized for invasive diagnostic and therapeutic interventions between 2003 and 2006. In addition, we conducted an extensive literature review of the genetic, clinical, and biochemical abnormalities of the disease.

RESULTS

Seventeen children with NOMID (median age 8 yr, range 9 mo to 11 yr) were anesthetized for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. All patients had neurological involvement, including increased intracranial pressure, chronic aseptic meningitis, and developmental delay; 7 had bony overgrowth, 15 ocular, and 14 otological manifestations of NOMID. Despite the complexity of the disease, the perioperative course was uncomplicated, and no serious adverse events were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is the first to investigate the anesthetic implications of NOMID, an autoinflammatory disease associated with arthropathy, recurrent fevers, urticarial rash, and chronic aseptic meningitis. While for the pediatric anesthesiologist, the presence of fever and aseptic meningitis might make the conduct of anesthetics for elective procedures less desirable, our findings suggest that without evidence of active infection, even in the presence of fever and chronic aseptic meningitis, general and regional anesthesia may be conducted in patients with NOMID without untoward complications.