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GENERAL ARTICLES

Laryngospasm After Autologous Blood Transfusion

From the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Loreta Grecu, MD, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114. Address e-mail to lgrecu{at}partners.org.

Although perioperative autologous blood transfusions are associated with few side effects, transfusion reactions can occur and can be life-threatening. We report the occurrence of postoperative laryngospasm in a patient who underwent spinal anesthesia for hip surgery. The laryngospasm could not be attributed to any cause other than the autologous blood transfusion and recurred when the transfusion was restarted. Laryngospasm was successfully treated both times with positive pressure ventilation. Autologous transfusions can trigger febrile nonhemolytic transfusion reactions, which may result in airway compromise.