"Loss of breath" as a cause of postoperative hypoxia and bradycardia in children submitted to tonsillectomy

ABSTRACTBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: the "shortness of breath" or "breathing interruption" crisis can be considered a cause of hypoxia in childhood. It is characterized by the presence of a triggering factor followed by weeping and apnea in expiration accompanied by cyanosis or pallor. The sequence of events may include bradycardia, loss of consciousness, abnormal postural tone and even asystole. A review of the literature revealed only two reports of postoperative apnea caused by "shortness of breath".CASE REPORT: this article describes the case of a child with a history of "shortness of breath" undiagnosed before the adenotonsillectomy, but that represented the cause of episodes of hypoxemia and bradycardia in the postoperative period.CONCLUSIONS: the "shortness of breath" crisis should be considered as a possible cause of perioperative hypoxia in children, especially when there is a history suggestive of this problem. As some events may be accompanied by bradycardia, loss of consciousness, abnormal postural tone and even asystole, observation in a hospital setting should be considered.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Moro,Eduardo Toshiyuki, Goulart,Alexandre Palmeira
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia 2015
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-70942015000500411
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!