Anesthetic Management of Patients With Kartagener Syndrome: A Systematic Review of 99 Cases

• Published in: Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia 2023-06, Vol.37 (6), p.1021-1025
• Main Authors: Cheng, Lili, Dong, Youjing, Liu, Shiqing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: airway; anesthesia; Anesthesia, General; Anesthetics; Humans; Kartagener syndrome; Kartagener Syndrome - surgery; lung isolation; Postoperative Complications; Situs Inversus; surgery
• ISSN: 1053-0770; 1532-8422
• DOI: 10.1053/j.jvca.2023.01.033

KARTAGENER SYNDROME (KS) is characterized by the triad of chronic sinusitis, bronchiectasis, and situs inversus. The mirrored anatomy and respiratory infections in patients with KS patients pose great challenges for anesthetic management. The aim of this review is to summarize published cases with the hope of helping anesthesiologists perform anesthesia in patients with KS more safely. A comprehensive literature search for all cases of anesthetic management of KS patients was performed in Pubmed, EMBASE, CNKI, and Wanfang Database. The extracted data included age, sex, type of surgery, preoperative treatment, type of anesthesia, anesthetic agents, airway management, central venous catheterization, transesophageal echocardiogram, reversal of neuromuscular blockade, adverse events during the surgery, and postoperative complications. The study authors included 82 single-case reports, 3 case series, and 1 case cohort, with a total number of 99 patients. The most common surgical procedures were thoracic surgery (51.5%), which was followed by ear, nose, and throat surgery (16.5%), and general surgery (14.5%). The preoperative treatment of the patients was reported in only 20 patients, and included antibiotics, bronchodilators, steroids, chest physiotherapy, and postural drainage. General anesthesia was performed for 85.4% of the surgeries, and regional anesthesia was performed in 14.6% of the cases. For nonthoracic surgery, an endotracheal tube was the most commonly used airway device. For thoracic surgery, a double-lumen tube was the most commonly used airway device. The intraoperative process was uneventful in most patients, and most patients recovered smoothly in the postoperative course.