[Paraplegia and the sitting position]. / Paraplégie et position assise.

The sitting position in neurosurgery may lead to complications such as air embolism and neurological complications. We report the case of a 16-year-old male who suffered from post-operation paraplegia after surgery for Arnold Chiari disease. This patient had several risk factors and serious morphological spinal abnormalities. We propose to include monitoring of somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) during this surgery in order to detect this type of devastating incident.

[BIS monitoring may allow the detection of severe cerebral ischemia]. / Intérêt potential du BIS pour détecter une souffrance cérébrale importante.

PURPOSE: To show that the bispectral index (BIS) is not only a monitor of the depth of anesthesia but that acute decreases of the index may be related to severe cerebral ischemia. CLINICAL FEATURES: Several clinical observations suggest that an unexplained fall of the BIS may be the result of cerebral ischemia. Somatosensory evoked potentials decreased in parallel to the decrease in BIS during carotid clamping in a 58-yr-old patient undergoing carotid endarterectomy. In a 62-yr-old patient undergoing resection of an aortic aneurysm, the BIS decreased from 40-50% to 8% as the cardiac index and central venous O(2) saturation decreased. The BIS returned to normal values when the low cardiac output was corrected pharmacologically. CONCLUSION: While the BIS is a well accepted monitor of the depth of anesthesia, several factors, unrelated to anesthesia, can modify the index. Thus, to adjust the level of anesthesia based solely on the BIS could be inappropriate. While the sensitivity and specificity of the BIS for this indication have not been determined, we suggest that the BIS may be useful to detect severe cerebral ischemia.

[Neuropathies of septic syndrome with multiple organ failure in burnt patients: 2 cases with review of the literature]. / Neuropathies du syndrome de sepsis avec défaillance multiviscérale chez les brûlés: 2 cas avec revue de la littérature.

We report two cases of axonal sensori-motor polyneuropathies complicating sepsis and multiple organ failure (MOF) among severely burned patients (total burned surface area of 35 to 40 per cent) in which no other cause of neuropathy was retrospectively identified. No steroids or neuromuscular blocking agents had been given. The date of onset was not established but the diagnosis was late, between the 30th and 45th day, at the recovery of consciousness. Regression was incomplete, with severe sequellae especially in one patient who was unable to walk 10 months after the injury. Burned patients can present with many kinds of peripheral neuropathies. Postburn polyneuropathies with nerve conduction slowing were described by Henderson. Mononeuropathies can result from nerve compression complicating unfavorable postures in comatose patients or from nerve entrapment in ischemic limbs. Polyneuropathy in postburn sepsis with MOF does not appear to have been previously reported. Postburn sepsis usually occurs in young patients, without other cause of MOF; and therefore represents a relatively "pure" sepsis syndrome.

Bronchopulmonary distress associated with toxic epidermal necrolysis.

We describe here a patient with severe TEN and respiratory distress and we review the subject of bronchopulmonary symptoms in TEN. Even if pseudostratified ciliated involvement is uncommon, bronchial lesions in the absence of other known causes, should be specifically related to TEN. The mechanisms of pulmonary involvement and ARDS associated with TEN are discussed.

[Fatal Lyell's syndrome caused by griseofulvin]. / Syndrome de Lyell d'évolution fatale après prise de griséofulvine.

A case of toxic epidermolysis (TE) with a fatal outcome is reported. It occurred after administration of 500 mg griseofulvin twice daily in a 19-year-old female patient. She developed the first skin lesions on the sixth day of treatment. All the body surface was involved, except for the scalp. Several complications arose in the course of the disease, thrombocytopaenia, lymphocytopaenia, rhabdomyolysis, and non cardiogenic pulmonary oedema. Death occurred as a result of multiple organ failure following septic shock associated with adult respiratory distress syndrome. The pathogenesis of these complications and the major therapeutic difficulties encountered are discussed. The involvement of griseofulvin in TE has only been reported once before. The arguments in favour of its involvement in the present case are discussed.

[Anesthesia for the surgery of malignant pheochromocytoma. Hypertensive crisis after the administration of droperidol]. / Anesthésie pour chirurgie d'un phéochromocytome malin. Accès hypertensif après administration de dropéridol.

A case of malignant phaeochromocytoma is reported. Computerized tomography and scintigraphy using metaiodobenzylguanidine localized the tumour and metastases. The anesthetic management included invasive monitoring of pulmonary pressures with a Swan-Ganz catheter and arterial pressure with a radial arterial cannula. Plasma catecholamine concentrations were measured before and during adrenalectomy and resection of a metastatic lesion on the fourth right rib. Induction of anaesthesia was carried out with droperidol, phenoperidine, thiopentone and pancuronium. After intravenous administration of droperidol, blood pressure increased together with the heart rate, vascular resistances and pulmonary pressure, whilst cardiac output decreased. Plasma noradrenaline levels were also greatly increased at the same time. The mechanism of this paradoxic pressor effect of droperidol is discussed.