[Perioperative management of a patient complicated with Quincke's edema]

We experienced perioperative management of a patient with Quincke's edema who underwent clipping of ruptured intracranial aneurysm. At the time of presentation, he complained of lip and tongue swelling. We administered dl-chlorpheniramine malate and tranexamic acid perioperatively to prevent further edema. Intraoperatively, we avoided contact of objects to the face and the oral cavity which might have caused mechanical stimuli, and infused albumin to maintain plasma osmotic pressure. The patient was kept intubated postoperatively because of significant tongue edema at the end of the procedure. On postoperative day 1, we extubated the trachea after prophylactic administration of methylpredonisolone. Significant upper airway edema was denied by flexible laryngoscopy. Pathophysiological cause of Quincke's edema is increased permeability of capillary vessels due to vasoactive substances. Aside from anti-histaminergic agents and steroids, tranexamic acid, which reduces production of kinin, is specifically effective for this condition. Although there is a reported case of Quincke's edema, eventually diagnosed after development of postoperative upper airway obstruction, there have been no reports of planned perioperative management of this condition. We demonstrated that Quincke's edema could be managed without life-threatening airway compromise by employing adequate pharmacologic interventions and sensible determination of the timing of extubation.