Treating Reye syndrome
Treating Reye syndrome depends on the stage at which the patient was diagnosed, and it focuses mainly on supportive care since there is no specific therapy for the condition. Supportive care includes measures to keep the patient’s condition stable and to protect their organs especially the brain from long-term damage. The most commonly done measures include:
- Correcting blood glucose and any abnormality in electrolytes. This can be corrected using dextrose and correcting acidosis if present.
- Reducing brain edema, which is the most significant finding in Reye syndrome and a common cause of death. This is done through colloids, which are substances that help keep fluid within blood vessels, reducing its movement to the brain and brain edema.
- Maintaining good oxygen levels and ideal heart function, and sometimes that may require ICU admission and mechanical ventilation.
- Measures to reduce the amount of ammonia in the blood including a medication called sodium phenylacetate-sodium benzoate.
- Controlling vomiting using ondansetron.
- Treating seizures using medications like phenytoin.
- Inducing hypothermia (forced reduction of body temperature) to reduce the metabolic load of the brain. This is done using cooling blankets to keep body temperature below 36 degrees Celsius.
- Preventing shivering using medications to stop muscle twitching. Shivering raises body temperature, increasing the body’s metabolic demands, which can be damaging to the brain.
- Measures to control problems with coagulation. The liver is the main source of coagulation factors, and if it is diseased enough, severe coagulopathy can occur. The administration of fresh frozen plasma is usually advisable.
