Minerva Anestesiol
December 2001
The clinical cases of two patients with neurological complications following neuroaxial blocks are reported. The events took place in different institutions where thousands of central blocks were yearly performed. In both instances the blocking procedures presented technical difficulties needing repeated lumbar punctures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Combined epidural/general anaesthesia might theoretically emphasise the cardiovascular effects of epidural block alone. The goal of the present investigation was to evaluate the incidence of both hypotension and bradycardia during integrated epidural/general anaesthesia in a multicentric, observational study.
Methods: The incidence of clinical hypotension (systolic arterial blood pressure decrease by 30% or more from baseline), and bradycardia (heart rate < 50 beats/min) and other side effects have been evaluated in 1200 consecutive patients receiving integrated epidural/general anaesthesia.
Objective: To evaluate both effectiveness and incidence of side effects of two techniques of postoperative pain treatment: intravenous and epidural PCA.
Design: Prospective analysis of data from two groups of randomized patients.
Settings: Orthopedic and trauma center.