Hyperpyrexia During Anaesthesia in a Second Member of a Family, With Associated Coagulation Defect Due to Increased Intravascular Coagulation

Fulminant hyperpyrexia associated with anaesthesia*

“…Purkis et al 9 reported a death from hyperpyrexia in a patient whose niece had succumbed in similar circumstances four months previously.…”

Idiopathic rhabdomyolysis

“…Though the aetiology of malignant hyperpyrexia is unknown, it is now recognized that it may occur in patients with an underlying abnor- (Steers, Tallack, and Thompson, 1970;Denborough et al, 1970b) and it has been suggested that it is a severe rhabdomyolysis which leads to the hyperpyrexia (Denborough et al, 1970a). These facts are relevant because, though rhabdomyolysis has only recently been incriminated in malignant hyperpyrexia, myoglobinuria is recognized and muscular hypertonicity with carpopedal spasm reported (Purkis et al, 1967).…”

Hyperrigidity and Hyperthermia Associated With Anesthesia

“…All three patients who were known to have received calcium salts also failed to recover, but in one of these the author reported that calcium gluconak injection was followed by a transient lessening of rigidity and improvement of the cardiovascular status. 16 Four of the five patients who received steroids succumbed. Four other patients to whom steroids were not given all survived.…”

“…Several patients have been described to us by personal communication, so that we are aware of about 75 cases. However, sufficient information to permit summarization was available to us for only 39 patients to whom 42 anesthetics were [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Cardiac arrest and death occurred in 25 of the 39 patients. Even in these cases the available information was often incomplete, particularly in regard to the sequence of events.…”