Prevention and treatment of malignant hyperthermia in certified training hospitals in Japan: a questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the preparedness of hospitals in Japan for cases of malignant hyperthermia (MH).


METHODS
A survey was sent to 884 training hospitals certified by the Japan Society of Anesthesiologists (JSA) in June and July 2000. Useful answers were received from 431 (48.8%) institutions.


RESULTS
For general anesthesia, inhalation anesthetics were widely used in 283 (65.7%) hospitals, and succinylcholine was the most commonly used muscle relaxant, which was used in 270 hospitals (62.5%). For patient monitoring, 422 (97.9%) hospitals used a pulse oximeter for all general anesthesia cases. A capnogram was used in 152 (35.3%) hospitals, and continuous body temperature was measured in 128 (29.7%). Two hundred and eighty-eight (66.8%) hospitals had more than six vials of dantrolene prepared for use, whereas 13 (3.0%) had none.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the survey revealed that some hospitals had inadequate monitoring methods and a lack of prepared dantrolene for cases of MH under general anesthesia. We recommend that essential monitors be deployed and adequate preparations of dantrolene be maintained for effective early diagnosis and treatment of MH.