Anesthetic implications of postpolio syndrome: new concerns for an old disease

Poliomyelitis was pandemic in the United States and much of the world in the first half of the 20th century. The uses of polio vaccines have essentially eradicated the disease in the United States today. But poliovirus infection survivors who had experienced a paralytic attack can see a return of some symptoms, which is a syndrome called postpolio syndrome (PPS). The anesthetist must preoperatively assess reported amounts of patient physical activity and patient age, which can indicate the amount of muscle degeneration that may have already occurred. Patients with PPS demonstrate altered respiratory function, cold intolerance, a risk for aspiration, and experience chronic pain in muscles and joints. Patients with PPS display an increased sensitivity to some anesthetic agents such as long-acting narcotics and potent inhaled anesthetic gases with a high blood-gas partition coefficient, along with report of increased fatigue, weakness, and somnolence after anesthesia. Anesthesia care must center on the preservation of muscle function postoperatively. The anesthetist should consider the use of short-acting anesthetic agents, increased doses of analgesics, the use of warming devices, and careful attention to patient positioning. Prolonged postoperative care and hospital admission after surgery are possible.