Malignant hyperthermia. Considerations for the ophthalmologist.

Malignant hyperthermia, a relatively recently described entity, is a little-understood disease process usually manifesting as operative or postoperative hyperpyrexia in association with a hypermetabolic state. Specific therapy with procaine (Novocaine) and more recently with a muscle relaxant, dantrolene sodium (Dantrium), has shown itself to be life-saving, and currently diagnosis can be made by muscle biopsy in patients from affected pedigrees. Malignant hyperthermia is a risk in all general anesthetic procedures, particularly squint and ptosis repair, and may even be a consideration with local anesthesia.