Cardiopulmonary Bypass in the Treatment of Malignant Hyperthermia

Abstract

MALIGNANT hyperthermia under anesthesia is characterized by tachycardia, tachypnea, metabolic acidosis, a rapid rise in body temperature and, at times, muscle rigidity.1 A 64 per cent mortality rate dictates early detection and rapid treatment.2 Measures used heretofore have included copious amounts of intravenous iced Ringer's lactate solution, lavage of the stomach and bladder with iced solutions, and large intravenous doses of procainamide or procaine.3 In the following case bloodstream cooling by cardiopulmonary bypass was successful in a patient with malignant hyperthermia. Case Report A 60-year-old woman with a malignant melanoma of the back was scheduled for bilateral radical axillary lymphadenectomy. . . .