Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease--clinical challenges

While not very common, the clinical anesthesiologist can expect to see between two and three patients per year with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, ADPKD. Careful education and proper planning are essential to assure appropriate care for these patients. In addition, co-morbid conditions associated with the disease, make it especially challenging for the anesthesiologist who must be prepared for all contingencies. Also, decreased renal function and the systemic effects combine to create unique problems in properly anesthetizing these patients. Finally, proper preoperative assessment is essential to protect patients with ADPKD, and special care should be taken to select drugs that rely on non-renal metabolism for excretion. This review summarizes anesthetic considerations regarding epidemiologic, diagnostic, genetic, and perioperative clinical issues related to this disease.