ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the correlation between posterior neck pain and lumbar epidural pressure (LEP)during percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD).Methods A prospective study was performed on 86 patients undergoing PELD,46 males,40 females,aged 1 9-71 years,with ASA physical status of Ⅰ or Ⅱ.Each patient received lumbar epidural anesthesia.Lum-bar epidural pressure (LEP)was monitored continuously through a lumbar epidural catheter which was connected to a pressure transducer.LEP before the operation (LEPbase ),LEP at the time of pos-terior neck pain (LEPpain )and maximal LEP (LEPmax )were recorded.Results Thirty patients (34.9%)complained of posterior neck pain during the procedure.The lowest LEPmax was 31.0 mm Hg,and the highest LEPmax was 77.0 mm Hg.The LEPmax in patients with neck pain [(60.6± 8.8)mm Hg]was significantly higher than LEPmax in patients without neck pain [(50.7 ± 9.5 ) mm Hg](P <0.01 ).Patients with higher LEPmax had higher probabilities of having posterior neck pain (P <0.01).Conclusion Patients with higher LEPmax had higher probabilities of having posterior neck pain.