Clinical cases of successful treatment of life-threatening complications of selective intraarterial chemotherapy in children with retinoblastoma

Introduction. Retinoblastoma (RB), a malignant neoplasm, is the most common pediatric intraocular tumor worldwide. With the advent of intra-arterial chemotherapy, interventional surgeons have assumed a central role in the treatment of this pediatric disease. Intra-arterial chemotherapy is a new treatment modality for RB in which chemotherapeutic agents are precisely delivered into the ocular artery, minimizing systemic toxicity. This procedure has shown impressive results and has significantly reduced the rate of enucleation in advanced and refractory RB. However, the procedure entails potentially serious acute respiratory and hemodynamic disturbances.Purpose of the study – present our experience with and features of anesthesia management in the development of life-threatening conditions during superselective intraarterial chemotherapy (SIAC) in two patients with RB.Materials and methods. We present clinical cases in 2 2-year-old patients with RB who received three courses of SIAC for RB with development of severe trigeminocardial reaction.Conclusion. SIAC is one of the new promising treatments for RB. Prominent cardiorespiratory complications are frequently observed during general anesthesia for repeated sessions of SIAC and can be potentially life-threatening. Presumably, these complications represent an autonomic reflex response to ocular catheterization. Therefore, all patients with RB who are scheduled for SIAC should be included in the high-risk group. The timing of occurrence of the trigeminocardiac reflex is predictable and temporary, but the anesthesiologist must be prepared to treat the developed complication with the help of emergency drugs (adrenaline).