Key result
Muscle ultrasonography fails to distinguish malignant hyperthermia susceptibility from controls.
Why the study?
Halothane-caffeine contracture testing is the only accepted diagnostic test for malignant hyperthermia, and the utility of ultrasonography for diagnosis was previously suggested but unconfirmed.
Does sonographic examination of the thigh and calf detect susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia compared to normal persons?
Case-Control (n=16)
Does sonographic examination of the thigh and calf detect susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia compared to normal persons?
Ultrasonography of the thigh and calf is not a useful diagnostic tool for detecting susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Ultrasound of thigh and calf should not guide malignant hyperthermia susceptibility assessment; Level 4 case-control data leave open whether refined imaging detects subtle differences.
MH is a rare, potentially fatal complication of general anesthesia. Halothane-caffeine contracture testing of a muscle biopsy is the only accepted diagnostic test for MH. A previous report indicated that ultrasonography may aid in diagnosis of MH. Using sonographic examination of the thigh and calf, we evaluated eight patients with proved susceptibility to MH and eight control patients. Two radiologists independently evaluated the sonograms for echogenicity and definition of fascial planes. We detected no consistent and reliable differences between control and MH patients. We conclude that, in our hands, ultrasonography is not useful in differentiating patients with MH from normal persons.
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Antognini et al. (1994) conducted a case-control in Malignant hyperthermia (n=16). Ultrasonography vs. Control patients was evaluated on Echogenicity and definition of fascial planes. Ultrasonography of the thigh and calf detected no consistent differences between 8 patients with malignant hyperthermia susceptibility and 8 controls.
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