title: Anterior spinal artery syndrome--a complication of cervical intrathecal phenol injection.
abstract: Spinal nerve block by intrathecal phenol-glycerine infusion is commonly employed for relief of severe pain in terminal carcinomatosis and, frequently, a dramatic regional anesthetic effect is achieved. However, nerve block by this procedure may in very rare instances give rise to serious complications. We have seen a case of terminal malignant melanoma in which clinical manifestations, indicative of anterior spinal artery syndrome, developed following the injection of 0.3 ml of 10% phenol-glycerine into the cervical subarachnoid space at the C4--C5 level for the control of severe right arm pain. This report describes the clinical course of the patient over a period of 4 months after the nerve block and the post-mortem findings along with a brief review of the literature.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000150:complications; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009407:Nerve Block; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D010166:Palliative Care; D010636:Phenols / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000139:chemically induced; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D010636:Phenols