Anesthetic Management of a Patient with Kennedy's Disease

• Published in: The international student journal of nurse anesthesia Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 11 - 15
• Main Author: Gregorczyk, Magdalena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Saint Louis International Student Journal of Nurse Anesthesia 01.07.2022
• Subjects: Airway management; Androgens; Atrophy; Case reports; Chronic pain; Dysphagia; Endoscopy; Esophagus; Fentanyl; Gastrointestinal surgery; General anesthesia; Hyperlipidemia; Intubation; Liver diseases; Metabolism; Patients

Kennedy's disease, a rare x-linked disorder, has unique perioperative anesthetic considerations due to progressive spinal and lower motor degeneration. Bulbar involvement can lead to spontaneous laryngospasm, aspiration, and inadequate ventilation requiring postoperative respiratory support.1 Spinal motor involvement causing muscle wasting requires careful titration of nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockers and avoidance of depolarizing neuromuscular blockers.1 Although Kennedy's disease is uncommon, a combination of a high frequency of misdiagnoses and a slowly progressing disease course makes these individuals likely candidates for requiring anesthetic care.2 Currently, case studies in the literature are limited, with few recommendations regarding anesthetic care.