Paraplegia following epidural anesthesia. A case report and a literature review.
This article reports the case of a man who developed a pure motor paraplegia following epidural anesthesia with a pattern of slow recovery over subsequent months. Reviewing the available literature on post-epidural paraplegia we noted a number of potential etiologies and analyzed their role in its causation. On the basis of this analysis we have identified five distinct clinical groups and a constellation of factors which can lead to an increased risk of post-epidural paraplegia in susceptible surgical patients.
D000368:Aged; D000767:Anesthesia, Epidural / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001100:Arachnoiditis / Q000150:complications; D006407:Hematoma, Epidural, Cranial / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000209:etiology*; D012306:Risk; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000098:blood supply