Epidural anaesthesia was successfully used for caesarean delivery in a Fontan circulation patient with severe thrombocytopaenia (platelets <50x10⁹/L) guided by thromboelastography.
A parturient in her 20s with Fontan circulation and severe thrombocytopaenia (platelet count <50×10⁹/L) undergoing elective caesarean delivery (n=1).
Epidural anaesthesia with a multidisciplinary perioperative plan, including targeted platelet transfusion and continuous invasive monitoring.
Successful elective caesarean delivery under epidural anaesthesia.
Epidural anaesthesia may be feasible for caesarean delivery in patients with Fontan circulation and severe thrombocytopaenia when guided by thromboelastography and multidisciplinary planning.
Fontan physiology poses unique anaesthetic challenges due to passive pulmonary circulation, preload dependence and elevated venous pressures. We present a case of a parturient in her 20s with Fontan circulation and severe thrombocytopaenia who successfully underwent elective caesarean delivery under epidural anaesthesia. Despite a platelet count <50×10⁹/L, reassuring thromboelastography findings and absence of bleeding history supported neuraxial anaesthesia with a multidisciplinary perioperative plan, including targeted platelet transfusion and continuous invasive monitoring. This case highlights the importance of individualised anaesthetic risk assessment, careful interpretation of coagulation studies and collaborative decision-making in high-risk obstetric patients. Our case supports the feasibility of epidural anaesthesia even in severely thrombocytopenic patients, particularly when general anaesthesia carries significant haemodynamic risk as in Fontan circulation and should not be excluded solely based on platelet count.
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Nicole Bianca San Juan Libiran
Elizabeth Emhardt
Leighan Bye
BMJ Case Reports
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis
Indiana University School of Medicine
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Libiran et al. (Wed,) reported a other. Epidural anaesthesia was successfully used for caesarean delivery in a Fontan circulation patient with severe thrombocytopaenia (platelets <50x10⁹/L) guided by thromboelastography.
www.synapsesocial.com/papers/69e1cf985cdc762e9d85876f — DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2025-269316