Pleural puncture with thoracic epidural: A rare complication?

Freedom from pain has almost developed to be a fundamental human right. Providing pain relief via epidural catheters in thoracic and upper abdominal surgeries is widely accepted. Pain relief through this technique not only provides continuous analgesia but also reduces post-operative pulmonary compl...

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Main Authors: Rachna Wadhwa, Sandeep Sharma, Devadatta Poddar, Sujata Sharma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2011-01-01
Series:Indian Journal of Anaesthesia
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ijaweb.org/article.asp?issn=0019-5049;year=2011;volume=55;issue=2;spage=163;epage=166;aulast=Wadhwa
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author Rachna Wadhwa
Sandeep Sharma
Devadatta Poddar
Sujata Sharma
author_facet Rachna Wadhwa
Sandeep Sharma
Devadatta Poddar
Sujata Sharma
author_sort Rachna Wadhwa
collection DOAJ
description Freedom from pain has almost developed to be a fundamental human right. Providing pain relief via epidural catheters in thoracic and upper abdominal surgeries is widely accepted. Pain relief through this technique not only provides continuous analgesia but also reduces post-operative pulmonary complications and also hastens recovery. But being a blind procedure it is accompanied by certain complications. Hypotension, dura puncture, high epidural, total spinal, epidural haematoma, spinal cord injury and infection are some of the documented side effects of epidural block. There are case reports eliciting neurological complications, catheter site infections, paresthesias, radicular symptoms and worsening of previous neurological conditions. Few technical problems related to breakage of epidural catheter are also mentioned in the literature. The patient had no sequelae on long term follow up even when a portion of catheter was retained. We present a case report where epidural catheter punctured pleura in a patient undergoing thoracotomy for carcinoma oesophagus.
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spelling doaj.art-3061ea52af59484f8573a0daa8917bf52022-12-22T00:13:10ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Anaesthesia0019-50492011-01-0155216316610.4103/0019-5049.79898Pleural puncture with thoracic epidural: A rare complication?Rachna WadhwaSandeep SharmaDevadatta PoddarSujata SharmaFreedom from pain has almost developed to be a fundamental human right. Providing pain relief via epidural catheters in thoracic and upper abdominal surgeries is widely accepted. Pain relief through this technique not only provides continuous analgesia but also reduces post-operative pulmonary complications and also hastens recovery. But being a blind procedure it is accompanied by certain complications. Hypotension, dura puncture, high epidural, total spinal, epidural haematoma, spinal cord injury and infection are some of the documented side effects of epidural block. There are case reports eliciting neurological complications, catheter site infections, paresthesias, radicular symptoms and worsening of previous neurological conditions. Few technical problems related to breakage of epidural catheter are also mentioned in the literature. The patient had no sequelae on long term follow up even when a portion of catheter was retained. We present a case report where epidural catheter punctured pleura in a patient undergoing thoracotomy for carcinoma oesophagus.http://www.ijaweb.org/article.asp?issn=0019-5049;year=2011;volume=55;issue=2;spage=163;epage=166;aulast=WadhwaEpidural catheterpost-operative painthoracotomy
spellingShingle Rachna Wadhwa
Sandeep Sharma
Devadatta Poddar
Sujata Sharma
Pleural puncture with thoracic epidural: A rare complication?
Indian Journal of Anaesthesia
Epidural catheter
post-operative pain
thoracotomy
title Pleural puncture with thoracic epidural: A rare complication?
title_full Pleural puncture with thoracic epidural: A rare complication?
title_fullStr Pleural puncture with thoracic epidural: A rare complication?
title_full_unstemmed Pleural puncture with thoracic epidural: A rare complication?
title_short Pleural puncture with thoracic epidural: A rare complication?
title_sort pleural puncture with thoracic epidural a rare complication
topic Epidural catheter
post-operative pain
thoracotomy
url http://www.ijaweb.org/article.asp?issn=0019-5049;year=2011;volume=55;issue=2;spage=163;epage=166;aulast=Wadhwa
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AT sandeepsharma pleuralpuncturewiththoracicepiduralararecomplication
AT devadattapoddar pleuralpuncturewiththoracicepiduralararecomplication
AT sujatasharma pleuralpuncturewiththoracicepiduralararecomplication