[Image: masthead]

24-HOUR MH HOTLINE

800-644-9737

Outside NA: 001-209-417-3722
FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY

24-HOUR MH HOTLINE: 800-644-9737
Outside NA: 001-209-417-3722
FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY

Malignant Hyperthermia Education Important to Florida Medical Professionals

Newswise — Orlando Health, the Florida Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses, and the Florida Society of Anesthesiologists took a moment to comment on a conference they are co-sponsoring with the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States in Orlando on June 29.

Orlando Health: “We are very pleased to host this informative conference,” said Jamal Hakim M.D., chief of quality and transformation, Orlando Health and managing partner, Anesthesiologists of Greater Orlando. “Education about malignant hyperthermia is extremely important to both medical professionals and to the entire community.” Orlando Regional Health Center, part of Orlando Health, is one of Florida's most comprehensive private, not-for-profit healthcare networks, and is based in Orlando, FL. Our facilities, advanced medical treatments and procedures, and highly qualified staff have distinguished Orlando Health as a healthcare leader for nearly two million Central Florida residents and 4,500 international visitors annually. Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) is an 808-bed hospital in downtown Orlando specializing in trauma, cardiovascular services, orthopedics, neurosciences, and internal medicine as well as minimally invasive bariatric surgery. ORMC is one of the state's six major teaching hospitals and Orlando Health's flagship medical center. ORMC is home to Central Florida's only Level One Trauma Center. Our leading edge technology and expertise allow us to provide comprehensive care to the most critically-ill or -injured patients throughout our community.

Florida Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (FLASPAN) President Terri Passig, BSN, RN, CCRN, CPAN : “I encourage everyone to take advantage of this unique opportunity to learn about malignant hyperthermia. We all hope that an MH crisis won’t happen to us but if it does we need to be prepared with the knowledge to provide our patients, and to deliver prompt life-saving interventions, and ensure appropriate follow up; whether you work in Pre-op, PACU, OR, ED, or ICU, knowledge of malignant hyperthermia may help you save a life some day!” FLASPAN provides education and promote the professional knowledge, competence, and growth of nurses working in all phases of perianesthesia care, thereby enhancing the care rendered to people undergoing anesthesia and/ or surgery in hospitals and ambulatory care settings, or any settings in which IV sedation is administered.

Florida Society of Anesthesiologists (FSA) President Charles J. Chase, D.O.: “Patient safety is a priority for The FSA and we are looking forward to having national experts in malignant hyperthermia affiliated with Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States share their experience with our community ”. FSA is an educational, research and scientific association of physicians organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology and improve the care of their patients.

What is Malignant Hyperthermia
Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially fatal, inherited disorder usually associated with the administration of certain general anesthetics and/or the drug succinylcholine. The disorder is due to an acceleration of metabolism in skeletal muscle. The signs of MH include muscle rigidity, rapid heart rate, high body temperature, muscle breakdown and increased acid content. Immediate treatment with the drug dantrolene usually reverses the signs of MH. The underlying defect is abnormally increased levels of cell calcium in the skeletal muscle.

There is mounting evidence that some patients will also develop MH with exercise and/or on exposure to hot environments. Without proper and prompt treatment with dantrolene sodium, mortality is extremely high. The best way to protect yourself, your family, your patients and facility, is to be prepared before it's too late.

Register to Learn the Basics
Learn the basics on how recognize, diagnose, and treat Malignant Hyperthermia by attending at the “MH Let’s Save a Life” conference where patients sit side-by-side with healthcare professionals, students, and families learning about MH from experts affiliated with MHAUS on June 29, 2013 from 10 am - 4 pm at Orlando Regional Medical Center located in Orlando, FL. The inherited muscle disorder Malignant Hyperthermia (MH) is most often triggered by certain anesthetic drugs leading to a life-threatening crisis that requires prompt, specific treatment. In rare cases, MH may also be triggered by heat and exercise. The conference is sponsored by Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States in conjunction with Orlando Health, Florida Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (FLASPAN), and Florida Society of Anesthesiologists (FSA).

Click here to register and for more information

Upon completion, participants will be able to:
1) Identify the signs and symptoms of an MH event.
2) Enforce quick treatment regimen for MH event.
3) Explain the response plan for an MH event to other medical staff.
4) State proper patient safety steps to take in preparation for an MH-Susceptible patient.
5) Discuss MH testing options with patients and assist them in seeking further information. There are education credits available.

About the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States (MHAUS):
MHAUS was founded families who lost their children to MH or could not find information about MH. In 1981 they found each other - and a doctor performing MH testing – and agreed “to make current information about MH available to all who need it!”
MH is inherited genetic disorder found in an estimated 1 out of 2,000 people. MH is triggered by certain anesthesia and most often experienced in individuals undergoing routine surgery but in rare cases MH can happen without anesthesia. Symptoms include body temperature of up to 107 degrees, muscle rigidity, system-wide organ failure, and possible death.

Today MHAUS provides information and resources to medical and lay communities through conferences, educational materials, ID tags, 24-hour MH Hotline, MHAUS website, and with the help of chapter groups like the newly formed Florida MH Chapter Group of MHAUS

The mission of MHAUS is to promote optimum care and scientific understanding of MH and related disorders. MH episodes can happen at any time. MHAUS can help you prepare before it’s too late.

see also

The mission of MHAUS is to promote optimum care and
scientific understanding of MH and related disorders.