Caudal epidural anesthesia for a 2-year old child with congenital myasthenia gravis.

ABSTRACT

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease with antibodies directed against the acetylcholine receptor at the neuromuscular junction. Anesthetists have a special interest in myasthenia gravis because of its interaction with various anesthetic agents. Unlike adult myasthenic patients; very little report has been written about the anesthetic management in children, other than in relation to thymectomy. Although the use of caudal anesthesia in pediatric patients is common, have not seen any report concerning its use in a myasthenic child. In this case report, we represented a 2 year-old boy was performed caudal anesthesia for orchiopexy operation. He had presented difficulty in breathing, generalized weakness and droopy eyes due to congenital myasthenia gravis. In the operating room, following the routine monitoring, the patient was sedated with intravenous 1mg midazolam and 10 mg ketamine. Then caudal block was performed. 17 minutes later from the local anesthetic injection; operation was started and lasted 45 minutes. The patient did not require intraoperative supplemental analgesia and postoperative course was uneventful. Specific attention should be paid to voluntary and respiratory muscle strength in myasthenia gravis patients. Caudal anesthesia allowed airway control of myasthenia gravis patients without endotracheal intubations and muscle relaxant. In conclusion, we think that caudal anesthetic technique may be considered as a safe and suitable for the myasthenic child and it may represent a valid alternative to general anesthesia for these patients.