Perioperative considerations for performing a brain biopsy on a patient with subtype VV2 sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Abstract

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is the most common transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. It is an infectious, progressive, degenerative neurological disorder, with a presumably long incubation period, but a rapid fatal course. CJD is transmitted by a proteinaceous infectious agent, or «prion». Because the prions are difficult to eradicate and are resistant to the currently used sterilization methods, special precautions must be taken with all surgical instruments. It is recommended the single-use equipment, destruction of contaminated equipment, decontamination of reusable instruments, use of protective clothing, and storing and quarantining surgical instruments. The single-use equipment and some tissues and body fluids from the patient with CJD are highly infectious and must be incinerated. We report a case of a patient who had undergone brain biopsy for suspected of CJD, being confirmed to have sporadic CJD. Specific preventive measures were taken to reduce the risk of transmission to healthcare workers.

Keywords: Anestesia; Anesthesia; Biopsia cerebral; Brain biopsy; Control de la infección; Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; Encefalopatía espongiforme transmisible; Enfermedad de Creutzfeldt-Jakob; Infection control; Procedimientos quirúrgicos; Surgical procedures; Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.