Anaesthetic drugs & techniques
Perianesthetic Complications in Genetic Mitochondrial Disease: A Review of Case Reports
Authors' conclusion
Available case-report data support the notion that GMD patients are at increased risk of a variety of perianesthetic complications. Clinical symptoms and procedure length appear most strongly predictive of severe complications.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with genetic mitochondrial disease (GMD) undergoing general anesthesia (GA), case reports published up to May 2025123 reports
- Participants
- 148 patients
- Comparison
- Volatile anesthetic agents vs total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA)
- Outcome
- Overall complication rate
Methodological detailsnarrative review
- Narrative review
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
P = 0.0022
Further pooled results
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| Severe complicationsSignificantly higher with VA | P = 0.01 |
Other associations with complications
- Encephalomyelopathies, including Leigh syndrome (LS), overrepresented among cases resulting in death
- Complication rate relatively stable over time
- Sex and age not associated with significant differences in complication rate
- Complication rate varied significantly by procedure type; severe complications associated with procedure length
- Older VAs had higher complication rates than newer VAs (not statistically significant)
- Older NMBAs may be less safe than newer drugs
- N2O and ketamine notably safe among drugs used in TIVA
Original publication
Perianesthetic Complications in Genetic Mitochondrial Disease: A Review of Case Reports. Paediatr Anaesth. Published 7 July 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →