Refractory Severe Laryngospam During Rapid Sequence Induction: A Case Report

Laryngospasm is a rare cause of upper-airway obstruction in adults. It most commonly occurs during light anesthesia. We report a case of severe laryngospasm following rapid sequence induction in an adult requiring an emergency neurosurgical procedure. Laryngospasm occurred despite deep anesthesia with ketamine and neuromuscular blockade with succinylcholine. Several intubation attempts failed. Therefore, 2 hypotheses are considered: succinylcholine resistance and ketamine-induced laryngospasm. To our knowledge, this is the first description of laryngospasm occurring despite deep anesthesia and neuromuscular blockade. An idiosyncratic effect of ketamine may be involved, although this phenomenon has not yet been studied.