Nerve root inflammation demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging in a patient with transient neurologic symptoms after intrathecal injection of lidocaine.

TRANSIENT neurologic symptoms after intrathecal injection of lidocaine are common. The main symptoms are severe pain and dysesthesia in the buttocks and legs after recovery from spinal anesthesia. The symptoms typically resolve within 1 week. No definitive etiology has been established until now. We report findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of a patient with transient neurologic symptoms after spinal anesthesia with lidocaine that indicated a local inflammatory process as the possible etiology for this symptom.