Cardiac Arrest in a Heart Transplant Patient Receiving Dexmedetomidine During Cardiac Catheterization

Dexmedetomidine is an α-2 agonist with a sedative and cardiopulmonary profile that makes it an attractive anesthetic in pediatric cardiac patients. Cardiac transplant patients may suffer from acute cellular rejection of the cardiac conduction system and, therefore, are at an increased risk of the electrophysiological effect of dexmedetomidine. We present such a patient who had a cardiac arrest while receiving dexmedetomidine during cardiac catheterization. Because acute cellular rejection of the cardiac conduction system is difficult to diagnose, dexmedetomidine should be used with caution in pediatric heart transplant patients.