Perioperative management of a patient with Automated Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (AICD)

Perioperative electromagnetic interference and their potential effects on automated implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) pose a considerable challenge to anaesthesiologists. A 73-year-old male weighing 30 kg with fracture neck of femur and with a background history of hypertension, severe left ventricular dysfunction and coronary artery disease with an implanted AICD in situ was scheduled for left sided hemiarthroplasty. The AICD was disabled during surgery. He received graded epidural with bupivacaine and fentanyl. He also received continuous epidural anaesthesia for postoperative pain relief. He had an uneventful perioperative period. We review this area and discuss the perioperative anaesthetic challenges in such patients.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/slja.v20i1.3237  

Sri Lankan Journal of Anaesthesiology 20(1): 58-61 (2012)