• Brian P Covert and Ryan H Nobles.
• Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
• Pain Physician. 2015 Sep 1; 18 (5): E905-9.

AbstractThe safety of neuraxial anesthetic techniques in the setting of oral and parenteral anticoagulation is an area of growing interest and clinical inquiry as the multitude of anticoagulant medications rapidly increases. Additionally, the indications for spinal cord stimulation therapy are evolving as both technique and technology in the field continue to advance. The estimated incidence of spinal hematoma following epidural injection has been estimated to be 1 in 150,000-200,000. However, there is very little data on the risk of indwelling spinal cord simulation leads and chronic use of anticoagulant medications. We would like to report a recent case for consideration in which a spinal cord stimulator trial was successful and led to permanent spinal cord stimulator implantation in a patient with diabetic peripheral neuropathy taking life-long aspirin and clopidogrel therapy secondary to extensive coronary and carotid atherosclerosis. The report serves as a novel case to encourage exploration into the topic of anticoagulation therapy with indwelling spinal cord stimulator leads. The case brings up a number of critical questions that cannot clearly be answered with the current literature and some interesting topics for discussion including the need for acute systemic anticoagulation in the future for vascular interventions and risk stratification for those patients selected for spinal cord stimulation.

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