Evaluation of anaesthesias in malignant hyperthermia negative patients

In vitro contracture test is still the most reliable method for diagnosing malignant hyperthermia susceptibility. In order to investigate the reliability of Malignant Hyperthermia Negative (MHN) results, a questionnaire was sent to 237 persons of whom 133 were consecutively investigated and found to be MHN, together with 104 of their children. In 17 anaesthetics with triggering agents in 7 MHN patients and 7 children of MHN patients, no signs of malignant hyperthermia were observed in any patient. This material is, however, too small to draw any conclusion about the reliability of MHN test results. This can only be done in a large multicentre study or a metaanalysis of several studies.