Intrathecal blood injection: a case report of a rare complication of an epidural blood patch

BMC Neurology

Travis Taylor¹  Joseph Seemiller¹  Ramin Zand¹  Sankeerth Challagundla¹ 

[1] Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Institute, Geisinger Medical Center;

关键词: Intrathecal injection;    Epidural blood patch;    Procedural complications;    Low pressure headache;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12883-020-01763-8

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Intrathecal injection is a rare complication of spinal anesthesia and an underreported complication of epidural blood patches. Although there are other reported cases of intrathecal blood injection, these cases lack confirmatory imaging and others report injection of mixed blood with other agents. Case presentation We present a case report of post-laminectomy cerebrospinal fluid leak who underwent epidural blood patch placement. CT and MRI brain imaging was obtained, depicting intrathecal blood products. The patient had subsequent seizures and respiratory distress, received supportive care, and returned to baseline after several days. Conclusion The patient’s clinical course illustrates the potential complications of blood products within CSF, including seizures and respiratory distress, which improved with supportive care in this case. Importantly, to our knowledge, this is the only report that clearly depicts injection of purely blood products, without other confounding agents (such as gadolinium), into intrathecal space and with diffuse spread through the CSF as visualized on CT and MRI imaging.

【 授权许可】

Unknown