BACKGROUND: Children with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) have historically been considered to be high-risk candidates for general anaesthesia (GA), but there is currently a paucity of evidence regarding the safety of anaesthesia and perioperative outcomes in this population. METHODS: Clinical features and outcomes of all paediatric patients (30 mm) and 35 (21%) patients had a haemodynamically significant left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient (>50 mm Hg). The majority (n=143, 87%) had no perioperative complications. 20 (12%) patients had minor perioperative complications: bradycardia (n=4), hypotension (n=15) or transient ST segment changes (n=1). One (0.6% of GA procedures) patient experienced a cardiac arrest during anaesthetic induction with death occurring 3 days later. Clinical parameters (including age, MWT, LVOT gradient, systolic and diastolic dysfunction) were not associated with an increased risk of complications CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest published series to date of paediatric patients with HCM undergoing GA, which demonstrates that, in an expert centre, patients can be anaesthetised with a relatively low perianaesthetic mortality (0.6%) and prevalence of minor complications (12%). Future studies are required to systematically identify clinical features that may predict anaesthetic risk
