Epidural blood patch for post dural puncture headache: a handy ally [corrected].
BACKGROUND
Epidural blood patch is a well-known item in the management protocol of post dural puncture headache though never been practised or reported in our environment. The aim of this report is to document its efficacy and establish a rationale for its use.


METHODS
A review of the case record of patients with post dural puncture headache and the relevant literature.


RESULTS
A case of post dural puncture headache was encountered at a free medical missionary outreach program following spinal anaesthesia for myomectomy. Having exhausted all the available conservative management options, she was offered epidural blood patch. The recovery profile was collected by assessment of her abilities and disabilities before and after the epidural blood patch, with visual analog scale for pain. The clinical condition improved a lot, with remarkable improvement in neck movement and the visual analog scale.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that epidural blood patch is a superior therapy for post dural puncture headache and recommend that post-anaesthetic rounds be conducted routinely to identify complications and enable early institution of therapy.
Department of Anaesthesia, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
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Ofoegbu
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Mato
D000328:Adult; D017217:Blood Patch, Epidural; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans