Butyrylcholinesterase deficiency

Overview

Butyrylcholinesterase deficiency (medical condition): A metabolic disorder involving an enzyme (butyrylcholinesterase) deficiency. It results in prolonged recovery from the effects of certain anesthetics such as succinylcholine and mivacurium which are muscle relaxants. The severity of the deficiency will determine the length of time taken to recover from anesthetic. In severe cases, patients can take more than 8 hours to recover.

Symptoms

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Butyrylcholinesterase deficiency includes the 1 symptoms listed below: * Prolonged recovery after anesthetic Note that Butyrylcholinesterase deficiency symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Butyrylcholinesterase deficiency signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis was highly suggested by the clinical history while cholinesterase activity was included in adult normal values but below values of a personal series of 41 small children. The familial analysis of dibucaine and fluoride number confirmed the hypothesis of an atypical variant (AA phenotype). The cholinesterase activity is higher in small children than in adult and has to be analysed according to the age.