Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, Vol 11, 291-296, Copyright © 1964 by Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society

Anaesthesia in Stokes-Adams Disease

¹ Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal

Fourteen patients with a history of Stokes-Adams disease have received in all 26 anaesthetics, mostly for the implantation of an artifieial pacemaker There is a considerable danger that Stokes-Adams attacks may ocur during the course of anaesthesia and, therefore, it is considered important to pace the heart artificially with an intravenous electrode catheter pnor to the; induction of anaesthesia

The maul danger of the electrode catheter is lhat minor current leaks from other apparatus (such as an EKG machine) may nn to ground through the catheter and cause ventricular fibrillation

The anaesthetic techniques employed in these caste were varied and were those m current use for other thoracotomies Few problems were encountered during the course of these anaesthetics, and this is attributed to the fact that in most of the patients the heart rate was controlled prior to the induction of anaesthesia by means of an artificial pacemaker

Note:

Presented at a meeting of the Quebec Division, Canadian Anaesthetists' Society, on October 19, 1963