Alternative approach to autonomic instability of very severe tetanus: stellate ganglion block

Abstract Tetanus is an acute and deadly disease caused by Clostridium tetani. A 60-year-old male came to hospital after he injured his thumb with a knife. Ten days later, he returned to hospital with abdominal spasms. He was vaccinated against tetanus and referred to intensive care unit. As he had sudden difficulty in respiration, he was entubated. Midazolam, magnesium and esmolol infusion were started. Next day, muscle spasms progressed all over his body. Midazolam infusion was replaced with propofol and vecuronium. At the third day, morphine infusion was added. At the 16th day, dexmedetomidine infusion was started. At the 20th day, ultrasound guided stellate ganglion block was performed to denervate sympathetic activity. The block was performed three times in a 10 days period. At the 30th, the patient recovered from very severe tetanus. The mainstay of tetanus treatment is adequate sedation. Neuroaxial blocks were proved to be effective for the control of sympathetic overactivity in recent years. Circulatory collapse remains to be the major cause of death. The mechanism is unclear but altered myocardial function is thought to be related to changeable catecholamine levels. The effect of stellate ganglion block on sympathetic and parasympathetic control of heart has been studied since the beginning of 1980s. Recently Scanlon et al. reported they treated a patient with medically refractory ventricular arrhythmias by ultrasound guided bilateral stellate ganglion block. In conclusion, stellate ganglion block can be an alternative method when the autonomic storm cannot be controlled with medical agents.

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Main Authors: Altıparmak,Başak, Uysal,Ali İhsan, Yaşar,Eylem, Demirbilek,Semra
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia 2018
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-70942018000200209
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spelling oai:scielo:S0034-709420180002002092018-04-17Alternative approach to autonomic instability of very severe tetanus: stellate ganglion blockAltıparmak,BaşakUysal,Ali İhsanYaşar,EylemDemirbilek,Semra Sellate ganglion block Tetanus Autonomic instability Intensive care unit Abstract Tetanus is an acute and deadly disease caused by Clostridium tetani. A 60-year-old male came to hospital after he injured his thumb with a knife. Ten days later, he returned to hospital with abdominal spasms. He was vaccinated against tetanus and referred to intensive care unit. As he had sudden difficulty in respiration, he was entubated. Midazolam, magnesium and esmolol infusion were started. Next day, muscle spasms progressed all over his body. Midazolam infusion was replaced with propofol and vecuronium. At the third day, morphine infusion was added. At the 16th day, dexmedetomidine infusion was started. At the 20th day, ultrasound guided stellate ganglion block was performed to denervate sympathetic activity. The block was performed three times in a 10 days period. At the 30th, the patient recovered from very severe tetanus. The mainstay of tetanus treatment is adequate sedation. Neuroaxial blocks were proved to be effective for the control of sympathetic overactivity in recent years. Circulatory collapse remains to be the major cause of death. The mechanism is unclear but altered myocardial function is thought to be related to changeable catecholamine levels. The effect of stellate ganglion block on sympathetic and parasympathetic control of heart has been studied since the beginning of 1980s. Recently Scanlon et al. reported they treated a patient with medically refractory ventricular arrhythmias by ultrasound guided bilateral stellate ganglion block. In conclusion, stellate ganglion block can be an alternative method when the autonomic storm cannot be controlled with medical agents.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessSociedade Brasileira de AnestesiologiaRevista Brasileira de Anestesiologia v.68 n.2 20182018-04-01info:eu-repo/semantics/articletext/htmlhttp://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-70942018000200209en10.1016/j.bjane.2016.09.006
institution SCIELO
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country Brasil
countrycode BR
component Revista
access En linea
databasecode rev-scielo-br
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region America del Sur
libraryname SciELO
language English
format Digital
author Altıparmak,Başak
Uysal,Ali İhsan
Yaşar,Eylem
Demirbilek,Semra
spellingShingle Altıparmak,Başak
Uysal,Ali İhsan
Yaşar,Eylem
Demirbilek,Semra
Alternative approach to autonomic instability of very severe tetanus: stellate ganglion block
author_facet Altıparmak,Başak
Uysal,Ali İhsan
Yaşar,Eylem
Demirbilek,Semra
author_sort Altıparmak,Başak
title Alternative approach to autonomic instability of very severe tetanus: stellate ganglion block
title_short Alternative approach to autonomic instability of very severe tetanus: stellate ganglion block
title_full Alternative approach to autonomic instability of very severe tetanus: stellate ganglion block
title_fullStr Alternative approach to autonomic instability of very severe tetanus: stellate ganglion block
title_full_unstemmed Alternative approach to autonomic instability of very severe tetanus: stellate ganglion block
title_sort alternative approach to autonomic instability of very severe tetanus: stellate ganglion block
description Abstract Tetanus is an acute and deadly disease caused by Clostridium tetani. A 60-year-old male came to hospital after he injured his thumb with a knife. Ten days later, he returned to hospital with abdominal spasms. He was vaccinated against tetanus and referred to intensive care unit. As he had sudden difficulty in respiration, he was entubated. Midazolam, magnesium and esmolol infusion were started. Next day, muscle spasms progressed all over his body. Midazolam infusion was replaced with propofol and vecuronium. At the third day, morphine infusion was added. At the 16th day, dexmedetomidine infusion was started. At the 20th day, ultrasound guided stellate ganglion block was performed to denervate sympathetic activity. The block was performed three times in a 10 days period. At the 30th, the patient recovered from very severe tetanus. The mainstay of tetanus treatment is adequate sedation. Neuroaxial blocks were proved to be effective for the control of sympathetic overactivity in recent years. Circulatory collapse remains to be the major cause of death. The mechanism is unclear but altered myocardial function is thought to be related to changeable catecholamine levels. The effect of stellate ganglion block on sympathetic and parasympathetic control of heart has been studied since the beginning of 1980s. Recently Scanlon et al. reported they treated a patient with medically refractory ventricular arrhythmias by ultrasound guided bilateral stellate ganglion block. In conclusion, stellate ganglion block can be an alternative method when the autonomic storm cannot be controlled with medical agents.
publisher Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia
publishDate 2018
url http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-70942018000200209
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