health
Sociedades de anestesiología investigan daños neurológicos y muertes en pacientes venezolanos: lo vinculan con una mutación genética
Las instituciones recomiendan a los médicos consultar si los pacientes tienen ascendencia materna venezolana, incluso si no hay antecedentes de problemas previos con la anestesia
TL;DR
- Severe neurological damage and deaths in healthy patients of Venezuelan descent after routine general anesthesia.
- Preliminary investigations suggest a link to a mitochondrial DNA mutation in the NADH dehydrogenase 4 gene, affecting cellular energy production.
- The mutation is maternally inherited and patients show no prior signs until exposed to anesthesia.
- Cases initially concentrated in South America but have also been identified in Europe and the United States.
- Recommendations include screening for maternal Venezuelan ancestry and avoiding volatile anesthetic gases in at-risk patients.
- Safer alternatives may include regional anesthesia and drugs like ketamine, midazolam, or opioids.
- Monitoring with processed electroencephalogram (EEG) and specific genetic testing are also advised.
- Four Venezuelan children died in Chile in 2025 due to adverse reactions to anesthesia, prompting alerts from Chilean and Venezuelan anesthesiology societies.
- Similar mutations were found in Venezuelan children in Spain, indicating a broader issue.
- Venezuelan anesthesiology societies express willingness to collaborate on research and urge against stigmatizing Venezuelan migrants.