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The anesthetic management of a patient with Cohen syndrome
Li Meng1, Joseph J Quinlan, Erin Sullivan
1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Insights
Cohen syndrome is a rare genetic disorder with distinct facial and developmental features. Anesthetic management presents challenges due to patient characteristics and potential airway difficulties.
Area of Science:
- Genetics and Rare Diseases
- Pediatric Anesthesiology
Background:
- Cohen syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder.
- Characterized by intellectual disability, hypotonia, microcephaly, and distinctive facial features.
- Rarely reported, with approximately 100 cases documented globally.
Observation:
- Patients often exhibit uncooperative behavior and facial malformations.
- These factors can complicate airway management and intubation during general anesthesia.
- Associated conditions include strabismus, myopia, optic atrophy, blindness, and cardiac defects.
Findings:
- The study details the anesthetic management of a patient with Cohen syndrome.
- Highlights the challenges encountered in providing anesthesia for these individuals.
- Emphasizes the need for careful pre-anesthetic evaluation and planning.
Implications:
- Informs anesthetic strategies for patients with Cohen syndrome.
- Contributes to the limited literature on managing this rare genetic disorder.
- Aids clinicians in anticipating and mitigating potential anesthetic risks.
Abstract:
Cohen syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by autosomal recessive inheritance and is characterized by the following features: mental retardation, infantile hypotonia, micrognathia, narrow and high-arched palate, microcephaly, prominent upper central incisors, poor dentition, short stature, and truncal obesity. Some patients have strabismus, myopia, optic atrophy, and total blindness. A small number of cases present with heart defects or mitral valve prolapse. Only approximately 100 cases have been reported in the world literature. The administration of general anesthesia in patients with Cohen syndrome can be a challenge because most of these patients are mentally retarded and uncooperative and have facial malformations that may make intubation difficult. We present our experience with the anesthetic management of a patient with Cohen syndrome.
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