title: [Clinical analysis of trigemino-cardiac reflex during surgery for patients with skull base tumors].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the clinical features, risky factors and outcome of the trigemino-cardiac reflex (TCR) during surgery for skull base tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred and sixty-two neurosurgical patients with skull base tumors underwent general anesthesia and open surgery from October 2009 to December 2011 in department of neurosurgery of Beijing Tiantan Hospital. The occurrence of TCR and the type of tumor, the surgical approach as well as the postoperative complication relative to TCR was evaluated retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen patients occurred TCR events intraoperatively (6.5%). There were 8 men and 9 women with an average age of 40.5 years. Eleven of them (64.7%) underwent schwannoma surgery. Regarding with the surgical procedure, the suboccipital retrosigmoidal approach and the middle fossa transtentorial approach were most commonly associated with TCR in this series (88.2%). The heart rate and blood pressure returned to the patient's normal baseline level after cessation of the surgical manipulation. There was no TCR-relative complication in cardiovascular system. The postoperative course is uneventful in all 17 patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TCR may occur during surgery for skull base tumor, especially when performing schwannoma surgery and suboccipital retrosigmoidal or middle fossa transtentorial approach. Accurate recognition and management of TCR during skull base surgery often carry on favorable outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Da-biao
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hui-wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ru-quan
authors.initials: RQ
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D059230:Reflex, Trigeminocardiac; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019292:Skull Base Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult