title: Thoracic epidural anesthesia in cardiac surgical patients: a prospective audit of 2,113 cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to present an audit report of thoracic epidural anesthesia without permanent neurologic deficits in more than 2,000 patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective audit of cases conducted over a 13-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary referral heart hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two thousand one hundred thirteen patients over a period of 13 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Epidural catheters were inserted at the C7 to T3 intervertebral space on the day before the operation in all patients; cardiac surgery was performed with or without cardiopulmonary bypass.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The authors did not encounter any permanent neurologic deficits in their series. The authors encountered 18 (0.85%) primary dural punctures and 4 cases (0.18%) of temporary neurologic deficits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This series adds to the worldwide experience of the use of epidural analgesia concomitantly with anticoagulation in cardiac surgery without serious complications.
authors.affiliation: Wockhardt Heart Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. chakravarthy@vsnl.com
authors.forename: Murali
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chakravarthy
authors.forename: Patil
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thimmangowda
authors.forename: Jayaprakash
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krishnamurthy
authors.forename: Shivananda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nadiminti
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jawali
mesh_terms: D000767:Anesthesia, Epidural / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit / Q000639:trends; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae