Acute neurologic deterioration following lumbar puncture in an epidural abscess occurring 14 months after epidural catheter placement.
We report the case of a 19-year-old girl admitted to the hospital with a 2-month history of back pain and a 1-week history of severe weakness, who underwent a diagnostic lumbar puncture which was swiftly followed by acute neurologic deterioration requiring ventilation. She was subsequently shown to have an epidural abscess extending from the second cervical to the fifth lumbar vertebrae. She had received uneventful epidural analgesia for childbirth 14 months previously. The case is unusual in both the acute deterioration following lumbar puncture, and also in the length of time from epidural siting to abscess formation, if this were indeed the source of the infection.
Doonan
J
J
Department of Anaesthetics, Leeds General Infirmary, England.
Murphy
P
P
Timothy
J
J
Marks
P
P
D000328:Adult; D002404:Catheterization; D020802:Epidural Abscess / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D013129:Spinal Puncture / Q000009:adverse effects*