Malignant hyperthermia, a rare perioperative complication: case series and literature review

Raymond Ndikontar; Paul Owono Etoundi; Joel Nouktadie Tochie; Roddy Stephan Bengono Bengono; Jacqueline Ze Minkande

doi:10.1093/omcr/omaa101

Malignant hyperthermia, a rare perioperative complication: case series and literature review

Oxf Med Case Reports. 2020 Nov 24;2020(11):omaa101. doi: 10.1093/omcr/omaa101. eCollection 2020 Nov.

Authors

Raymond Ndikontar^{1

2}, Paul Owono Etoundi^{1

3}, Joel Nouktadie Tochie^{1

2}, Roddy Stephan Bengono Bengono¹, Jacqueline Ze Minkande^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
² Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Yaoundé Gynaeco-Obstetric and Pediatric Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
³ Department of Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Yaoundé Central Hospital, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Abstract

Malignant hyperthermia is a rare complication of general anesthesia appearing as an acute and potentially lethal hypermetabolic state in people carrying a genetic anomaly expressed in skeletal muscles. Malignant hyperthermia has been scarcely described in sub-Saharan Africa. Herein, we present three cases of malignant hyperthermia occurring in the perioperative period in Cameroon. The authors wish to draw attention to the clinical presentation of this rare but potentially lethal emergency, for timely diagnosis, management and follow-up geared at preventing perioperative mortality.

Publication types

Case Reports