Korean J Anesthesiol.  2002 Jul;43(1):126-130. 10.4097/kjae.2002.43.1.126.

One Case of Anesthetic Management for a Cesarian Section in a Patient with Acute Fatty Liver of Pregnancy

• Cheong SH
• Kim YW
• Kim SY
• Lee KM
• Choe YK
• Kim YJ
• Park JW
• Shin CM
• Park JY

• KMID: 1936045
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2002.43.1.126

Abstract

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is a uncommon complication of late pregnancy which may progress to hepatic failure, encephalopathy, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, and death. A 65 kg 29-yr-old female at 35 weeks gestation complained of epigastric discomfort and jaundice 5 days before adimission. She had icteric sclera but other physical findings were non-specific. Anesthetic induction was achieved with thiopental, succinylcholine and vecuronium and the trachea was easily intubated. Maintenance of anesthesia was accomplished with oxygen : nitrous oxide (3 : 2) and 0.8% isoflurane. The Apgar scores were 8 and 10 at 1 min and 5 min, respectively. After the end of surgery, the patient was awakened and she was extubated after she followed verbal commands. She remained stable during her immediate postoperative course, but her vital signs were worse suddenly on postoperative day 3. On postoperative day 5, she was supported by artificial ventilation. The prothrombin time and the partial thromboplastin time were prolonged. Dopamine, dobutamine and norepinephrine were administered for maintaining her cardiovascular function. After that she was managed with artificial ventilation, cardiovascular drugs, fluid and blood products due to multi-organ failure. On postoperative day 25, she expired due to an acute cardiac arrest which was suspected to be due to multi-organ failure.

Keyword

Acute fatty liver; Cesarean section; general anesthesia; pregnancy

MeSH Terms

Anesthesia
Anesthesia, General
Cardiovascular Agents
Cesarean Section
Dobutamine
Dopamine
Fatty Liver*
Female
Heart Arrest
Humans
Isoflurane
Jaundice
Liver Failure
Nitrous Oxide
Norepinephrine
Oxygen
Partial Thromboplastin Time
Pregnancy*
Prothrombin Time
Sclera
Succinylcholine
Thiopental
Trachea
Vecuronium Bromide
Ventilation
Vital Signs
Cardiovascular Agents
Dobutamine
Dopamine
Isoflurane
Nitrous Oxide
Norepinephrine
Oxygen
Succinylcholine
Thiopental
Vecuronium Bromide