[Anesthesia management of caesarean section for pregnant women complicated with Takayasu's arteritis]

Takayasu's arteritis is a rare, idiopathic, chronic inflammatory disease. Its course is unpredictable, but slow progression is usual, leading to stenosis, occlusion, or aneurismal degeneration of the aorta or its major branches. We present the anesthesia management of pregnancy in four women admitted to Peking University Third Hospital for caesarean section from year 2006 to 2015 complicated with Takayasu's arteritis and review this disease with special reference to natural history, diagnostic criteria, classification, prognostic factors, and anesthesia considerations. Anesthesiological data were retrospectively analyzed for clinical manifestations, anesthesia process, perioperative complications, and pregnancy outcome. One patient received only epidural anesthesia, while the other three patients received combined spinal and epidural anesthesia (CSEA). Surgeries for all the four patients were successful with stable vital signs. We found comprehensive examinations including whether the disease was in the active phase and the clinical classification of the disease before conception was recommended for patients diagnosed with Takayasu's arteritis. CSEA and continuous epidural block could be both used as anesthesiological method in patients with Takayasu's arteritis. During the surgery, to avoid rapid hemodynamic fluctuations and protect the major organs' function is very essential to allow for a satisfactory outcome.