Delayed-Onset Malignant Hyperthermia With Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Following Successful Prior Anesthetic Use: A Case Report
- 1Internal Medicine, Penn State Health, Reading, USA
- 2Critical Care Medicine, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, USA
Abstract
Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a serious perioperative reaction associated with exposure to volatile inhalational anesthetics and/or succinylcholine. Severe episodes may lead to widespread physiologic instability, including coagulopathic complications. This case describes an otherwise healthy middle-aged man who developed MH complicated by disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) during a subsequent surgery for a left ankle fracture. MH reactions can be unpredictable due to the involved genes' incomplete penetrance, which is why MH does not always occur each time an MH-susceptible patient is exposed to a triggering agent. This case highlights the importance of maintaining vigilance for MH even in patients with prior uneventful anesthetic exposures. Patients with suspected MH reactions should be referred for genetic testing, with important implications for future anesthetic management of both the patient and their family members.
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BibTeX
@article{buleza2026delayedonset,
title = {{Delayed-Onset Malignant Hyperthermia With Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Following Successful Prior Anesthetic Use: A Case Report}},
author = {Nicole Buleza and Leena Ramadan},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.117261},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13722617},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Delayed-Onset Malignant Hyperthermia With Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation Following Successful Prior Anesthetic Use: A Case Report
AU - Nicole Buleza
AU - Leena Ramadan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.117261
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13722617
AB - Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a serious perioperative reaction associated with exposure to volatile inhalational anesthetics and/or succinylcholine. Severe episodes may lead to widespread physiologic instability, including coagulopathic complications. This case describes an otherwise healthy middle-aged man who developed MH complicated by disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) during a subsequent surgery for a left ankle fracture. MH reactions can be unpredictable due to the involved genes' incomplete penetrance, which is why MH does not always occur each time an MH-susceptible patient is exposed to a triggering agent. This case highlights the importance of maintaining vigilance for MH even in patients with prior uneventful anesthetic exposures. Patients with suspected MH reactions should be referred for genetic testing, with important implications for future anesthetic management of both the patient and their family members.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -