Perioperative care of the cocaine-dependent neurosurgical patient

Abstract

Purpose: Cocaine, a commonly abused drug, can cause life-threatening complications, significantly impacting patient management. Cocaine is associated with an increased risk of stroke including subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) that may require expectant surgical management. Patients presenting for anesthesia with acute cocaine toxicity pose additional concerns. Clinical Features: A 48 year old woman presented with a seizure, acute cocaine intoxication, and was diagnosed with a SAH. Further diagnostic evaluation revealed a bleeding cerebral aneurysm requiring urgent surgical aneurysm clipping. Her perioperative course was complicated by hypertension requiring treatment to minimize further aneurysm bleeding before clipping. Cocaine-associated cardiac complications impacting management included a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction and severe anteroseptal hypokinesis on echocardiogram. Conclusion: Hemodynamic management with a recent SAH and acute cocaine intoxication required special considerations. Perioperative SAH management initially focused to prevent additional bleeding before clipping and then after clipping to minimize cerebral ischemia. Benzodiazepines were used early in this case to treat seizures and cocaine-associated hemodynamic effects. Specific treatments for life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias are discussed including sodium bicarbonate as a first line treatment and potential benefits of magnesium administration. With prolongation of a QT interval secondary to cocaine and/ or SAH, medications that often are utilized during the perioperative period may further prolong the QT interval and should be avoided.