Regional anesthesia in patients with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease: a historical cohort study of 53 patients

Purpose Anesthetic management for patients with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) is controversial. Description of the use of regional anesthesia (RA) in patients with CMT is limited. Regional anesthesia has traditionally been avoided because of risk of nerve injury. We retrospectively reviewed patients with CMT who received RA at our institution. Methods We performed a historical cohort study of all patients with CMT who received RA from 30 April 2010 to 30 April 2020 within our institution. Charts were reviewed for information on demographics, RA procedures, perioperative variables, evidence of neurologic complications, post-RA neurology consults, and perioperative electromyography (EMG) results. Electromyographs were reviewed by a neurologist who was blinded to the surgical and RA details. Results Fifty-three patients received a total of 132 regional anesthetics during the study period. Twenty-five patients received RA on more than one occasion. Fifty-five EMGs and 14 postoperative neurology consults were performed. Two patients had neurology consults with peripheral nerve block (PNB) distribution complaints years later. Neither attributed the complaints to the PNB. The other neurology consults were for unrelated complaints. No EMG results suggested injury related to PNB. Conclusion This study found no evidence of documented neurologic complications or an increased risk of nerve injury related to RA in CMT patients.