Transient Global Amnesia After General Anesthesia

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is an amnestic syndrome, clinically dramatic but benign in nature. The hallmark of TGA is brief inability to form new memories and recall past memories despite otherwise normal neurological function. In a significant number of patients with TGA a stressful precipitatin...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Anesthesia and analgesia Vol. 101; no. 3; pp. 916 - 919
Main Authors:	Bortolon, Ryan J., Weglinski, Margaret R., Sprung, Juraj
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Hagerstown, MD International Anesthesia Research Society 01-09-2005 Lippincott
Subjects:	Aged Amnesia, Transient Global - chemically induced Amnesia, Transient Global - psychology Anesthesia Anesthesia, General - adverse effects Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy Biological and medical sciences Coronary Artery Disease - complications Depressive Disorder - complications Foramen Magnum - pathology Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging Male Medical sciences Migraine Disorders - complications Paresthesia - surgery Recurrence Shoulder Pain - surgery Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - surgery Memory disorder Nervous system diseases Cognitive disorder Global amnesia Central nervous system disease General anesthesia Neurological disorder Cerebral disorder
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Transient global amnesia (TGA) is an amnestic syndrome, clinically dramatic but benign in nature. The hallmark of TGA is brief inability to form new memories and recall past memories despite otherwise normal neurological function. In a significant number of patients with TGA a stressful precipitating factor can be identified. We report two cases of TGA after uneventful general anesthesia. Anesthesia per se does not appear to be a direct trigger of TGA, as our first patient had a second anesthetic the next day without recurrence of TGA. Because the presentation of TGA can be dramatic and may mimic an acute cerebral ischemic event, a thorough neurologic evaluation should be pursued.
ISSN:	0003-2999 1526-7598
DOI:	10.1213/01.ANE.0000175208.76574.54