Anesthetic management of a patient with erythema multiforme for emergency appendectomy

Abstract

Erythema multiforme (EM) is an acute, immune-mediated, mucocutaneous disease, caused by several factors such as infections, drugs, malignancy, autoimmune disease, radiation, and immunization. The anesthetic concerns in these patients include possibility of difficult airway, intraoperative steroid supplementation, avoidance of precipitating drugs, intraoperative arrhythmias, perioperative skin, and eye care. A 13-year-old boy, a known case of EM with a history of recurrent ocular herpes and impaired vision along with fibrosis at the bilateral angle of the mouth underwent emergency open appendectomy under spinal anesthesia. Spinal anesthesia with injection hyperbaric bupivacaine (0.5%) is a safe and suitable alternative in a patient with EM with recurrent herpes simplex virus.