ABSTRACT
Pompe or Glycogen Storage Disease type II (GSD-II) is a genetic disorder affecting both cardiac and skeletal muscle. Historically, patients with the infantile form usually die within the first year of life due to cardiac and respiratory failure. Recently a promising enzyme replacement therapy has resulted in improved clinical outcomes and a resurgence of elective anesthesia for these patients. Understanding the unique cardiac physiology in patients with GSD-II is essential to providing safe general anesthesia. Additional care in maximizing coronary perfusion pressure and minimizing arrhythmia risk must be given. For these reasons, it is recommended that anesthesia for infantile Pompe patients should specifically avoid propofol or high concentrations of sevoflurane and, instead, use an agent such as ketamine as the cornerstone for induction in order to better support coronary perfusion pressure and to avoid decreasing diastolic blood pressure (DBP) with vasodilatory agents. We present the anesthetic technique in a case of infantile type Pompe disease.
