Hypoalbuminemia-Related Prolonged Sedation After General Anesthesia: A Case Report.

A 69-year-old man underwent total laryngopharyngectomy with radial forearm free flap reconstruction. He had lost 15 kg over a period of 6 months and did not receive any preoperative nutritional workup or management. The patient had a general total intravenous anesthetic with ketamine, lidocaine, and propofol, which was uneventful for an 8-hour surgery. The patient remained deeply sedated for 4 hours after discontinuation of all sedative medications. Diagnostic workup only revealed hypoalbuminemia and hypoproteinemia. We hypothesized relative overdosage of sedative anesthetic drugs due to preoperative malnutrition accentuated by intraoperative fluid administration.