title: A case of cervical spondylitis during stellate ganglion block.
abstract: We report a case of cervical spondylitis that developed during treatment with a series of stellate ganglion blocks. A 65-year-old man was scheduled for 10 sessions of stellate ganglion block for treatment of right-sided deafness of sudden onset due to Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Administration of betamethasone was started 5 days before the first block and was continued for 6 weeks. After disinfection of the skin by povidone iodine, each stellate ganglion block was performed via the paratracheal approach. The first four block sessions were uneventful. However, during the fifth session, the patient complained of neck pain. After 10 sessions, the deafness improved and the patient was discharged from the hospital. Three weeks after discharge, he was readmitted for sustained neck and bilateral shoulder pain and numbness of the right hand. Cervical roentgenography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed spondylitis of C5 and C6. Antibiotics were administered for 2 weeks. The inflammatory variables on blood examination improved, but cervical roentgenography performed 8 weeks after the last block showed that the vertebral body of C6 was nearly completely destroyed. Four months after the last block, the vertebral bodies of C5 and C6 had fused. This case indicates that when stellate ganglion block is performed in patients who are taking a corticosteroid, the disinfection procedure must be strictly followed and that if the patient complains of neck or shoulder pain, cervical roentgenography or magnetic resonance imaging or both should be immediately performed to assess the presence of spondylitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Nippon Medical School Second Hospital, 1-396 Kosugi-cho, Kakahara-ku, Kawasaki 211-8533, Japan. manzo@nms.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Hozumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Marumo
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Manzo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oya
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001340:Autonomic Nerve Block / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013166:Spondylitis / Q000209:etiology*; D013233:Stellate Ganglion