Anesthetic management for parturients with neurological disorders

Anesthesia care for the pregnant and the parturient presenting with a neurological disease requires (1) expertise with neuroanesthesia and obstetric anesthesia care, (2) accurate physical examination of the neurological system preoperatively, (3) safe choice and conductance of the anesthesia technique (mostly regional anesthesia), (4) avoidance of unfavorable drug effects for the fetus and the nervous system of the mother, and (5) intraoperative neuromonitoring together with the control of the fetal heart rate. The most important message is that in the ideal case, any woman with a known, preexisting neurological disorder should discuss her plans to become pregnant with her physician before she becomes pregnant. Neurological diseases in pregnancy can be classified into three categories: (a) Pre-existent chronic neurological diseases such as epilepsy and multiple sclerosis (MS). (b) Diseases with onset predominantly in pregnancy such as some brain tumors or cerebrovascular events. (c) Pregnancy-induced conditions such as eclampsia and Hemolysis elevated liver enzymes and low platelets syndrome. This article addresses specific issues surrounding neurologic disease in pregnant women including MS parturient, spinal cord injury, parturient with increased intracranial pressure and shunts, parturient with brain tumors, Guillain-Barré syndrome and epilepsy.