[Anaphylactic shock from succinylcholine, complicated by a rhabdomyolysis].

A young woman, with a contact dermatitis to nickel, experienced a life threatening anaphylaxis after induction of general anaesthesia for an emergency curettage. Hypersensitivity reaction involving IgE antibodies against succinylcholine was proven by positive skin test and radioimmunoassay detection of antibodies against succinylcholine and quaternary ammonium. After restoration of haemodynamics in a few hours, the patient had rhabdomyolysis predominant at lower left leg, which required a fasciotomy.

[Anesthesia for heart catheterization in children. Comparison of 3 techniques].

A study was carried out to compare the haemodynamic and respiratory effects, as well as the quality of recovery, of anaesthesia with ketamine, sodium gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GOH) and etomidate in children undergoing cardiac catheterization. Thirty children, mean age 48 +/- 35 months, ranked ASA 2 or 3 on account of congenital heart disease, were assigned to one of three groups (n = 10). They were given: in group E1, a 0.

Beta-adrenergic receptor function is acutely altered in surgical patients.

Catecholamine-induced desensitization of beta-adrenergic receptors resulting in hyporesponsiveness to further stimulation has been frequently reported after an increase in endogenous catecholamines. To examine the possibility of beta-adrenoceptor desensitization due to intraoperative adrenergic activation (surgical stress), the alterations of human lymphocyte beta-adrenergic receptor density and affinity observed after anesthesia and surgery were studied using (-)125I-iodocyanopindolol binding in 19 patients undergoing noncardiac surgical procedures with general anesthesia (thiopental, fentanyl, and halothane or isoflurane). In 13 patients, repeated determinations of plasma levels of norepinephrine and epinephrine showed an increase during the surgical procedure (norepinephrine +60%; epinephrine +60%); this change was not observed in the remaining patients.

Attenuation of the baroreceptor reflex by propofol anesthesia in the rat.

The effect of the intravenous (i.v.) short-acting anesthetic propofol on baroreflex control of heart rate (HR) was examined in normotensive rats.