Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive X-linked recessive disorder that affects boys and female carriers. It is the most common dystrophy with onset in childhood in the United States. It is associated with severe, progressive proximal muscle weakening due to absence of dystrophin, which is found in skeletal and cardiac muscles This chapter presents a review of anesthetic considerations for patients with DMD in the context of the disease’s natural history with special consideration for cardiomyopathy evaluation and management, restrictive lung disease evaluation, and management and postoperative ventilation. The chapter covers an overview of the disease; etiology and pathogenesis; cognitive, neuromuscular, cardiac, and pulmonary clinical presentation; diagnosis and management; and special anesthetic considerations.