Case report
Central trigeminocardiac reflex in pediatric neurosurgery: a case report and review of the literature
1 Department of Neurosurgery, Tokuda Hospital Sofia, 51b Nikola Vaptsarov Boulevard, Sofia, 1407, Bulgaria
2 Department of Anesthesiology, Tokuda Hospital Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
3 Department of Neurosurgery, University of Paris, Paris, France
4 Department of Neurosurgery, Tokuda Hospital Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria
Journal of Medical Case Reports 2012, 6:372 doi:10.1186/1752-1947-6-372
Published: 30 October 2012Abstract
Introduction
Trigeminocardiac reflex is a well-known phenomenon in neurosurgery, craniofacial surgery, ophthalmology and interventional neuroradiology. Even though the trigeminocardiac reflex has become an important factor in skull base surgery and neurosurgery, the central form of trigeminocardiac reflex has only been described in adult subpopulations until now.
Case presentation
We present a clear form of repetitive trigeminocardiac reflex expressed during revision surgery of a giant (110×61mm) right temporoparietal meningioma in an 18-month-old male Caucasian patient. After cessation of the surgical stimulus, his heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure returned to normal physiological levels. The further follow-up was uneventful.
Conclusion
Our case demonstrates that the central trigeminocardiac reflex also exists in pediatric patients, especially if manipulating trigeminal innervated structures or around the nerve itself. Whether the incidence and the behavior of the trigeminocardiac reflex is similar in pediatric neurosurgery compared with adult patients has to be shown in further studies.
