A Retrospective Study of Neurological Complications in Pediatric Patients With Moyamoya Disease Undergoing General Anesthesia

Moyamoya disease is a condition with potentially devastating and permanent neurological sequelae. Adequate volume status and blood pressure, tight control of carbon dioxide to achieve normocarbia, and providing postoperative analgesia to prevent hyperventilation are typical goals that are used during anesthetic care in these patients. The purpose of this study was to assess postanesthesia neurological complications in moyamoya patients undergoing general anesthesia for imaging studies and surgical procedures excluding neurosurgical revascularization.

We performed a retrospective cohort study examining moyamoya patients who received general anesthesia for imaging studies and nonneurosurgical-revascularization procedures between January 1, 2001 and December 1, 2016 at our quaternary care pediatric hospital. A general anesthetic encounter was excluded if it occurred within 30 days after a revascularization surgery. The electronic medical records of study patients were analyzed for perioperative management, and neurological outcomes within 30 days of an anesthetic were assessed.

A total of 58 patients undergoing 351 anesthesia exposures were included in the study. Three patients experienced neurological complications, which included focal neurological weakness, seizure, and altered mental status. The incidence of complications during anesthesia encounters was 0.85% (3/351) with a 95% confidence interval of 0.28-2.62.

Over a 16-year period at our hospital, 3 children with moyamoya disease who underwent anesthesia for nonneurosurgical-revascularization purposes demonstrated postanesthesia neurological symptoms. The symptoms were consistent with transient ischemic attacks and all resolved without long-term sequelae.