Paraplegia Following Epidural Nerve Block / 대한마취과학회지

ABSTRACT

Recently, epidural nerve block is widely used for postoperative and chronic pain control. Epidural nerve block has been known to be a safer procedure than spinal nerve block. But epidural nerve block can cause serious neurologic complication as spinal nerve block. We report a case of paraplegia following single epidural nerve block for pain control. The patient had been suffering from burning pain on both knee and the radiating pain of right lower extremity. The patient after the block showed paraplegia and urinary incontinence. MRI revealed that the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord have a vascular malformation. The dilated veins and the injection of local anesthetic solutions may have precipitated latent ischemic hypoxia of the spinal cord due to raised venous pressure. This case points out the importance of accurate neurological history and examination of patient for epidural nerve block.