[Anesthetic Management of a Patient who Developed Intraoperative Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia with Pulseless Electric Activity].

A 75-year-old woman was scheduled to undergo an ileus operation under general combined with epidural anesthesia. Preoperative electrocardiogram (ECG) showed first-degree atrioventricular block. The patient received no preoperative antiarrhythmic medication. During surgery, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) occurred unexpectedly with radial artery pulsation disappearing, indicating pulseless electric activity (PEA). After a five-second episode of PSVT, her sinus rhythm recovered spontaneously. However, the patient had repeated short duration of PSVT with PEA. Continuous infusion of ultra-short-acting β-blocker landiolol successfully terminated the PSVT, and sinus rhythm was restored. Postoperative ECG showed sinus rhythm. This case report indicates that β-blocker can be a drug of choice in patients with PSVT associated with PEA.