Emergency preparedness case study: malignant hyperthermia.

The second of this 2012 Case Study series addresses a situation that is uncommon in the surgical setting. Without proper recognition and prompt treatment, the mortality rate can be as high as 80% (Christiansen & Collins, 2004; Larach, Gronert, Allen, Brandom, & Lehman, 2010). With prompt recognition and intervention when this emergency does arise, the mortality rate has been reduced to 5% ((Rosenberg, Sambuughin, & Dirksen, 2010). Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is an inherited syndrome that affects 1 of 50,000 adults and 1 of 15,000 pediatric patients undergoing anesthetic procedures (Christiansen & Collins, 2004; Rosenberg et al., 2010). In this article, the reader is exposed to a case of MH and is asked a series of questions related to risk assessment, signs and symptoms, and nursing responsibilities.