Complications and liability related to regional and neuraxial anesthesia.

Regional anesthesia is responsible for approximately one-fifth of professional liability claims. The present investigation evaluated common and rare complications related to regional and neuraxial anesthesia, including postdural puncture headache, backache, transient neurological symptoms, inadvertent intrathecal injection, epidural hematoma and abscess, meningitis, arachnoiditis, postoperative urinary retention, local anesthetic systemic toxicity, and cardiac arrest. Regional anesthetic techniques are increasingly used in perioperative care of surgical patients for acute pain management and for chronic pain states. This manuscript also provides an overview and analysis of the existing literature and makes some recommendations in terms of strategies to prevent or minimize the potential patient injury, with a focus on those more commonly associated with patient injury and liability exposure. The role of ultrasound in preventing patient injury during regional anesthesia is also discussed.

Post Dural Puncture Headache in Fibromyalgia after Cesarean Section: A Comparative Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Patients of chronic pain syndromes like fibromyalgia (FMS) when subjected to spinal anesthesia are theoretically more liable to post dural puncture headache (PDPH) as they have enhanced central nervous system sensitization and decreased descending inhibition. OBJECTIVE: The current study aims to verify the incidence and chronicity of PDPH in FMS patients. STUDY DESIGN: Case control study. METHODS: In a comparative control study, 70 fibromyalgia patients were scheduled for an elective cesarean delivery fibromyalgia group or Group 1. Group 2 included 70 women scheduled for elective cesarean delivery who had no history of chronic pain and is used as a control group. Both groups were compared regarding the incidence of development of PDPH in the first postoperative 48 hours and the persistence of PDPH for 7 days or more. SETTINGS: Women's Health Hospital, Assiut University, antenatal Clinic. RESULTS: The fibromyalgia group reported more PDPH (18 patients, 25.7%) as compared to the control group (10 patients, 14.3%), P < 0.01. PDPH persisted for 7 or more days in 8 patients in the fibromyalgia group (11.4%) while, it persisted in 2.86% of the control patients. PDPH continued for more than 3 months in 2 patients in the fibromyalgia group (2.86%). LIMITATIONS: Difficulty in calculating the dose of analgesics as patients with fibromyalgia may use other analgesics due to musculoskeletal pain. CONCLUSION: Dural puncture increases the incidence of PDPH in fibromyalgia patients in comparison with normal controls without increasing other postoperative side effects.

Nonpharmacologic Neuraxial Interventions for Prophylaxis of Postdural Puncture Headache in the Obstetric Patient.

Postdural puncture headache due to accidental dural puncture during epidural catheter placement is a source of morbidity for new mothers. It can interfere with maternal-newborn bonding and increase the length of hospitalization. This evidence-based article examined the question: For obstetric patients experiencing an accidental dural puncture during epidural placement, which nonpharmacologic prophylactic neuraxial interventions safely and effectively decrease the incidence of postdural puncture headache? A search of online databases revealed 4 systematic reviews with meta-analysis and a randomized controlled trial meeting the inclusion criteria. Three of the 4 systematic reviews used rigorous appraisal methods. Two systematic reviews included nonobstetric populations and 3 included additional interventions. Subgroup analyses allowed examination of the interventions of interest. Nonpharmacologic prophylactic neuraxial interventions included prophylactic epidural blood patch, epidural saline administration, and intrathecal catheter placement. There was a lack of standardization of interventions. The evidence suggested there may be value in performing a prophylactic blood patch or placing an intrathecal catheter. The risk of the intervention must be carefully weighed with the benefits. Further rigorous studies are needed to help determine the best methods to decrease the incidence of postdural puncture headache in obstetric patients experiencing an accidental dural puncture during epidural placement.

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