BACKGROUND Current methods of locating the epidural space rely on surface anatomical landmarks and loss-of-resistance (LOR). We are not aware of any data describing real-time ultrasound (US)-guided epidural access in adults. METHODS We evaluated the feasibility of performing real-time US-guided paramedian epidural access with the epidural needle inserted in the plane of the US beam in 15 adul...

The authors performed a meta-analysis and found that epidural analgesia overall provided superior postoperative analgesia compared with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia. For all types of surgery and pain assessments, all forms of epidural analgesia (both continuous epidural infusion and patient-controlled epidural analgesia) provided significantly superior postoperative analgesia compar...

context lumbar central spinal stenosis is common and often results in chronic persistent pain and disability, which can lead to multiple interventions. after the failure of conservative treatment, either surgical or nonsurgical modalities such as epidural injections are contemplated in the management of lumbar spinal stenosis. evidence acquisition recent randomized trials, systematic reviews an...

Epidural neuroplasty is found to be effective in removing fibrous tissue occurring in the epidural space for various reasons. We report a case of cerebellar infarction caused by epidural abscess after epidural neuroplasty. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of cerebellar infarction developed as a result of epidural abscess accompanying bacterial meningitis after epidural neu...

Epidural block is achieved either by single injection of local anesthetic through an epidural needle or as a continuous block by infusion pump through an epidural catheter. Complications associated with epidural catheters include breakage, entrapment, and knotting. Knotting of epidural catheters is very rare, but knotting in lumbar epidural catheters has been reported in a number of studies, an...

An epidural infection is a rare and extremely dangerous complication of epidural anesthesia. This case report describes an epidural infection following the use of a continuous lumbar epidural anesthetic. This patient was fortunate, in that the infection did not result in neurologic sequelae and required only long-term intravenous antibiotic therapy. With the increasing use of epidural analgesia...

Spinal epidural hematoma, a potentially devastating problem, requires rapid diagnosis and urgent surgical intervention. Two types of spinal epidural hematoma have been described in the literature: traumatic and nontraumatic.1 Traumatic spinal epidural hematoma has been attributed to spine surgery,2 epidural catheter placement,3 lumbar puncture,4 and chiropractic manipulation.5 Nontraumatic, or ...