THE CASE OF SO-CALLED MASS REFLEX IN PARAPLEGIC PATIENT DURING GENERAL ANESTHESIA

Abstract

During general anesthesia with a modified neuroleptanesthesia in a 18 year old male with a spinal cord tumor, the authors experienced so-called mass reflex characterized by profound hypertension, increased pulse pressure and cutaneous flushing when the tumor was removed, and then arterial oxygen tension decreased from 171 to 90 in mercury.
But we succeeded in overcoming the elevation of blood pressure with the alcuronium having a sympathetic ganglion blocking action.
Generally we have been used a light anesthesia in paraplegics, but since such patients have these dangers this method induced the elevation in blood pressure was not desirable, and particularly a modified neuroleptanesthesia should not be used.