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Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Shiv Sharma, MD, FRCA, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, Texas 75390-9068. Address e-mail to shiv.sharma{at}utsouthwestern.edu.
In pregnant patients with myasthenia gravis and respiratory compromise, neuraxial anesthesia for lower abdominal surgery can risk further respiratory depression. We report the use of epidural anesthesia for dilation and curettage and tubal ligation in a 26-yr-old woman with a 12-wk intrauterine pregnancy with severe myasthenia gravis and respiratory insufficiency in whom ventilatory support during anesthesia was provided successfully using bilevel positive airway pressure ventilation. This report demonstrates how the use of bilevel positive airway pressure for ventilatory support may improve the safety of regional anesthesia in patients with severe respiratory compromise.
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P. P. Bapat Ventilatory Support During Neuraxial Blockade Using Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure in a Patient with Severe Respiratory Compromise Anesth. Analg., December 1, 2006; 103(6): 1603 - 1604. [Full Text] [PDF] |
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