Ron Litman, DO Becomes New Malignant Hyperthermia Hotline Director

Newswise — The Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States (MHAUS) is very pleased to announce that Dr. Ron Litman, Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has agreed to become the new Medical Director of the MH Hotline.

The MH Hotline has been one of the signature services of the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States (MHAUS) since its founding in the early 1980s. Hundreds of callers use the hotline every year in order to obtain expert advice on the management of MH or suspected MH cases. The data concerning the reasons for calls and the responses given are reported in summary form in the MHAUS newsletter, “The Communicator”, and lessons learned from the hotline have been reported at national meetings and in publications on a regular basis.

Dr. Litman has been a devoted member of the hotline for many years, was awarded the MHAUS Hotline Partnership award in 2005 and has accessed hotline data for incorporation in several publications in outstanding journals. In 2005 he was appointed the Director of Clinical Research, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, General Anesthesia Division of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In addition, he has authored a comprehensive text on Pediatric Anesthesia, which is now available as an ebook.

In addition, Dr. Litman is often invited to speak at national and international meetings on a variety of topics related to anesthesia and critical care.

Dr. Litman will be working to expand the MH Hotline database and relationships the MH Hotline has with other organizations that review and analyze anonymized patient data.

What is Malignant Hyperthermia
Malignant hyperthermia is a potentially fatal, inherited disorder usually associated with the administration of certain general anesthetics. 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 sodium for injection usually reverses the signs of MH. The underlying defect is abnormally increased levels of cell calcium in the skeletal muscle. The best way to protect yourself, your family, your patients and facility, is to be prepared before it's too late.

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.