[Anesthesia in patients with NBIA : Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation]

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) forms a group of rare hereditary diseases with rapid neurodegenerative progression due to an abnormal accumulation of iron in the basal ganglia. This causes extrapyramidal symptoms as well as dystonia and mental retardation. The most common form of NBIA is pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN, formerly Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome). There are multiple anesthesiological challenges with great implications for the clinical routine, particularly regarding the preparation for general anesthesia and the premedication visits. As with other orphan diseases, the available recommendations are mainly based on case reports.

This article gives a short overview of complications associated with NBIA pertaining to general anesthesia. This includes anesthesia-relevant clinical symptoms and perioperative management. The published literature and case reports (available on PubMed) were reviewed to extract a set of recommendations.

So far only a few reports have included the anesthesia management of NBIA patients. Most of them refer to PKAN as the predominant type (50% of cases). Recommendations were found on www.orphananesthesia.eu and consensus guidelines on PKAN in general. In particular, dystonia-related restrictions in the maxillofacial area can complicate airway management and cause difficulties with respect to intubation. Furthermore, local or regional anesthesia as the sole anesthesia technique is not eligible/viable due to the reduced compliance of the patient. Special attention should be paid to a timely premedication visit and evaluation to ensure sufficient time to safely plan and prepare the anesthetic procedure.

The handling of NBIA patients requires good preparation, including an interdisciplinary team and customized time management. In principle, both general anesthesia as a balanced method and total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) seem to be possible/viable options. The main focus is on airway management. Even after brief sedation in the context of diagnostic measures, the patient should be monitored for longer than usual.