Abstract

VEGA USECHE, LEONEL SANTIAGO et al. Butirilcholinesterase Deficiency: A Narrative Review of Literature. Salud, Barranquilla [online]. 2021, vol.37, n.3, pp.740-756.  Epub May 23, 2022. ISSN 0120-5552.  https://doi.org/10.14482/sun.37.3.616.831.

Butyrylcholinesterase is an enzyme that metabolizes depolarizing neuromuscular relaxants, such as succinylcholine, a chosen medication for procedures that require short-term muscular paralysis, to facilitate endotracheal intubation in patients undergoing emergency procedures, for example. Butyrylcholinesterase deficiency can be defined as a quantitative reduction of the enzyme and its activity to hydrolyze molecules, becoming the main cause of prolonged neuromuscular blockade after the administration of neuromuscular relaxants such as succinylcholine. It is a pathological condition that can be of either hereditary or acquired origin; being more common the enzymatic deficiency of genetic origin and of auto-somal recessive character, occurring in approximately one in 3,200 to 5,000 people worldwide. Its clinical manifestation is characterized by persistent muscle relaxation which can lead to acute respiratory failure. The diagnosis must be oriented to the identification of its clinical characteristics, serological quantification, and neuromuscular monitoring. Because a cure does not exist for this deficiency, management should be directed to mechanical ventilation of the patient, until the used drug is fully metabolized. This article aims to review the state of the art, describing its epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and updates in its diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords : Deficiency; Butyrylcholinesterase; Succinylcholine; Enzymes.

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