The intracarotid etomidate Wada test: A 54-patient series

Abstract Hemispheric language dominance and isolated hemispheric memory function evaluation can be undertaken with the intracarotid injection of a general anesthetic agent (Wada test). Amobarbital has been traditionally used as the anesthetic agent, but legal and commercial constraints limit its use...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Epilepsy & behavior 2014-10, Vol.39, p.73-77
Main Authors: Passarelli, Valmir, Pinto, Lecio F, Jorge, Carmen L, Puglia, Paulo, Adda, Carla C, Wen, Hung-Tzu, Castro, Luiz H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Epilepsy surgery
Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe - surgery
Etomidate
Etomidate - administration & dosage
Female
Functional Laterality - physiology
Humans
Hypnotics and Sedatives - administration & dosage
Injections, Intra-Arterial
Language
Male
Memory - drug effects
Memory - physiology
Middle Aged
Neurology
Preoperative Care - methods
Wada test
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Hemispheric language dominance and isolated hemispheric memory function evaluation can be undertaken with the intracarotid injection of a general anesthetic agent (Wada test). Amobarbital has been traditionally used as the anesthetic agent, but legal and commercial constraints limit its use. We evaluated the use of etomidate as an alternative agent for the Wada test in a series of 54 consecutive adult patients with mesial temporal sclerosis undergoing presurgical evaluation for epilepsy surgery. Language lateralization and hemispheric memory function evaluation were successfully achieved in all cases. Side effects (somnolence, tremor, and dystonia) were infrequent, minor, and transient and did not require interruption of the procedure. Etomidate appears to be a safe and effective alternative agent to amobarbital in the Wada test. Similarly to the amobarbital Wada test, the ability of the etomidate Wada test to predict postoperative memory decline remains unclear.
ISSN:1525-5050
1525-5069
DOI:10.1016/j.yebeh.2014.08.028