Abstract

KAULING, Ana Laura Colle; ALMEIDA, Maria Cristina Simões de; LOCKS, Giovani de Figueiredo  and  BRUNHARO, Guilherme Muriano. Myasthenia gravis: two case reports and review of the literature. Rev. Bras. Anestesiol. [online]. 2011, vol.61, n.6, pp. 755-763. ISSN 0034-7094.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-70942011000600007.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune neurologic disease that affects the postsynaptic portion of the neuromuscular junction. It represents a challenge for anesthesiologists due to the diversity of disease manifestations and possibility of postoperative respiratory complications. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the importance of adequate monitoring of the neuromuscular blockade (NMB) due to the multiple presentations of MG. CONTENTS: In this paper we report two cases of patients with MG. The first patient presented with the classical sensitivity to the neuromuscular blocker (NMB) and the second had a similar response to that of a normal patient. The literature review will be restricted to disease characteristics, while the description of its pathophysiology will focus on its reactions to NMB. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that, due to the multiple presentation and treatment of MG, neuromuscular transmission monitors are fundamental when using NMB.

Keywords : Neuromuscular Blocking Agents; Myasthenia gravis; Electromyography; Atracurium; Anesthesia [General]; Monitoring [Physiologic].