Anaesthetic management of an obstetric patient with variegate porphyria.
Author
Harris, C
Hartsilver, Emma
Date
2013-04Journal
International journal of obstetric anesthesiaType
Case reportPublisher
ElsevierDOI
10.1016/j.ijoa.2013.01.005Rights
Archived with thanks to International journal of obstetric anesthesiaMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Porphyria is an uncommon disease that can produce life-threatening attacks with a mortality rate of up to 10%, specifically as the result of administration of porphyrinogenic medications. In obstetric anaesthesia there are many situations where drugs are given in an emergency and it is therefore important to be prepared for complications to avoid inadvertently inducing an iatrogenic porphyric crisis. We discuss the case of a 20-year-old nulliparous woman with variegate porphyria who required an emergency caesarean section in labour, and the drugs that are commonly used in obstetric practice.