Amnesia and Pain Relief after Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in a Cancer Pain Patient: A Case Report

The mechanism of chronic pain is very complicated. Memory, pain, and opioid dependence appear to share common mechanism, including synaptic plasticity, and anatomical structures. A 48-yr-old woman with severe pain caused by bone metastasis of breast cancer received epidural block. After local anesthetics were injected, she had a seizure and then went into cardiac arrest. Following cardiopulmonary resuscitation, her cardiac rhythm returned to normal, but her memory had disappeared. Also, her excruciating pain and opioid dependence had disappeared. This complication, although uncommon, gives us a lot to think about a role of memory for chronic pain and opioid dependence.