title: Unilateral anhidrosis: A rare complication of thoracic epidural analgesia.
abstract: Management of pain following thoracotomy is an important issue for the control of early morbidity. We herein present the case of a patient who was referred to our hospital after a fall from a height. Right-sided multiple rib fractures, hemopneumothorax, and diaphragmatic rupture were detected. Thoracic epidural catheterization was performed for pain management just before thoracotomy. The patient developed unilateral anhidrosis postoperatively. We discuss this rare complication of thoracic epidural analgesia with a review of relevant literature.
authors.affiliation: Division of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Nafiz Korez Sincan State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gultekin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gulbahar
authors.affiliation: Division of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Nafiz Korez Sincan State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet Gokhan
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Gundogdu
authors.affiliation: Division of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Dr. Nafiz Korez Sincan State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Güzide
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alkan
authors.affiliation: Division of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Dr. Nafiz Korez Sincan State Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hatice Baran
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Baysalman
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Ufuk University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey tevfikkaplan@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Tevfik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D015360:Analgesia, Epidural / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007007:Hypohidrosis / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013546:Sweating; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae; D013908:Thoracotomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local
keywords: Analgesia; Horner syndrome; Hypohidrosis; Pain; Postoperative complications; Thoracotomy; epidural; postoperative