Recurrent spinal myoclonus after two episodes of spinal anesthesia at a 1-year interval -A case report-

Propriospinal myoclonus: diagnostic value of polymyography and video polysomnography

Propriospinal myoclonus is a hyperkinetic movement disorder characterized by painless jerks of the axial muscles, mainly in the trunk and hips. A 53-year-old woman was referred to the Sleep Unit with trunk flexion movements in the supine position during the wake-sleep transition and during sleep, with premonitory sensation. We performed 2 video polysomnographic recordings. In the first video polysomnogram, the recording showed jerks of the trunk and abdomen that appeared when the posterior dominant alpha rhythm disappeared; during these jerks the patient stayed at stage 1 or stage 2 of non-rapid eye movement sleep. The second video polysomnogram included several electromyogram electrodes located at the masseter, deltoid, rectus abdominis (T9-T0 level), vastus lateralis, and tibialis anterior muscles. This polysomnogram revealed 123 repetitive arrhythmic jerks with variable duration, usually lasting 500-1,900 ms each (906 ± 0.4 ms). In our patient, propriospinal myoclonus was detected up to stage 2 of non-rapid eye movement sleep and even at rapid eye movement sleep.

CITATION

Ramos RW, Viñas LL, Martín ER, Cárdenas CL, Pereda AF, Manzanares LL. Propriospinal myoclonus: diagnostic value of polymyography and video polysomnography. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(5):995-998.

Transient involuntary movement disorder after spinal anesthesia: A case report

BACKGROUND

Spinal anesthesia is commonly used for various surgeries. While many complications occur after induction of spinal anesthesia, involuntary movement is an extremely rare complication.

CASE SUMMARY

Herein, we report the case of a 54-year-old healthy male patient who experienced involuntary movements after intrathecal injection of local anesthetics. This patient had undergone metal implant removal surgery in both the lower extremities; 7 h after intrathecal hyperbaric bupivacaine administration, involuntary raising of the left leg began to occur every 2 min. When the movement disorder appeared, the patient was conscious and cooperative. No other specific symptoms were noted in the physical examination conducted immediately after the involuntary leg raising started; moreover, the patient's motor and sensory assessments were normal. The symptom gradually subsided. Twelve hours after the symptom first occurred, its frequency decreased to approximately once every three hours. Two days postoperatively, the symptoms had completely disappeared without intervention.

CONCLUSION

Anesthesiologists should be aware that movement disorders can occur after spinal anesthesia and be able to identify the cause, such as electrolyte imbalance or epilepsy, since immediate action may be required for treatment. Furthermore, it is crucial to know that involuntary movement that develop following spinal anesthesia is mostly self-limiting and may not require additional costly examinations.

Spinal myoclonus following neuraxial anesthesia: a literature review

Spinal myoclonus (SM) is a rare neurologic movement disorder following neuraxial anesthesia (NA). SM following NA (SM-NA) has insufficient clinical information and its pathogenesis remains to be elucidated. The aim of this review article was to summarize the past cases and consider SM-NA pathophysiology. Based on our PubMed search, it was revealed that SM-NA develops within several hours after neuraxial local anesthetic (LA) administration and resolves in a day without leaving neurologic compilations. It occurs primarily in the lower extremities, but can sometimes spread upward and affect the upper extremities and trunk. Although statistical adjustments are indispensable, analysis of the previous cases provided important facts that seem to be related with the mechanism of SM-NA. The frequently used LAs for spinal anesthesia were hyperbaric. SM-NA occurrence was more frequent in women. After initiation of spinal anesthesia, intrathecal hyperbaric LA distributes cephalad. In the LA elimination process, the large concentration differences in intrathecal LA may induce the partially functioning spinal neurons, resulting in myoclonus generation. The morphological features of the lumbar spine in women can predispose to a higher LA concentration difference. SM-NA is an unpredictable and rare neural complication following NA and should be confirmed by basic experiments and large-scale researches.

Myoclonus-like involuntary movements following cesarean delivery epidural anesthesia

Spinal myoclonus following neuraxial anesthesia is rare. This report describes a case of myoclonus-like involuntary movement that occurred during the recovery from epidural anesthesia for a cesarean delivery. The patient's symptom improved with the administration of benzodiazepine, and the patient recovered with no neurological sequelae. In conclusion, epidural anesthesia can cause spinal myoclonus, which can be treated with a benzodiazepine.

Complete resolution of myoclonus-like involuntary movements under subarachnoid block after midazolam administration in a patient undergoing cesarean section: a case report

Involuntary movement during and after neuraxial anesthesia, such as spinal and epidural anesthesia, is rarely observed. In this report, we describe a case of myoclonus-like involuntary movement of the upper extremities in a patient undergoing a planned repeat cesarean section under spinal anesthesia with bupivacaine that completely subsided after administration of 2 mg of midazolam. The myoclonus-like movement did not recur or cause any apparent neurological side effects.