Background: Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a neurological condition with serious implications during anaesthesia if overlooked.Objective: Our purpose was to highlight the issues encountered during anaesthesia in patients with SPS and to evaluate the most appropriate anaesthetic management during surgery.Methods: A structured search was performed throughout various databases such as Ovid medline, Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Collaboration for articles published from 1950s and after. The search included only humans and those who underwent procedures with anaesthesia.Results: Only 13 of such case studies were found due to the rarity of the condition. Amongst these 13 patients, most were in the middle to elderly aged groups and they underwent different procedures. Their response to different drugs used for induction, neuromuscular blockade or maintenance of anaesthesia also varied with some leading to life-threatening complications especially due to postoperative hypotonia. Route of anaesthesia also had a role in changing the outcomes.
Conclusion:SPS is challenging to manage and the use of drugs like midazolam, propofol, rocuronium is recommended to improve patient outcomes. Volatile agents are safe if their doses are kept to a minimum with bispectral index monitoring. Alternative routes of anaesthesia may be better but this is not always feasible.