• R Ortiz de la Tabla González, A Martínez Navas, and M Echevarría Moreno.
• Servicio de Anestesiología y Reanimación, Hospital Universitario de Valme, Sevilla. raquelortizdelatabla@yahoo.es
• Rev Esp Anestesiol Reanim. 2011 Aug 1;58(7):434-43.

AbstractCentral neuraxial blocks, which are associated with a low incidence of complications, are safe. When complications do occur, however, the resulting morbidity and mortality is considerable. The reported incidence of complications in all series is under 4 per 10000 patients, but given the absence of formal registries and notification procedures, which have legal implications, the real rate of occurrence of these rare events is uncertain. We searched the literature through PubMed and the Cochrane Plus Library for a 5-year period, using the search terms epidural anesthesia AND safety, spinal anesthesia AND safety, complications AND epidural anesthesia, complications AND spinal anesthesia, neurologic complications AND epidural anesthesia, and neurologic complications AND spinal anesthesia. Neuraxial injury after a central blockade may be the result of anatomical and/or physiological lesions affecting the spinal cord, spinal nerves, nerve roots, or blood supply. The pathophysiology of neuraxial injury may be related to mechanical, ischemic, or neurotoxic damage or any combination. When a complication occurs, factors related to the technique will have interacted with pre-existing patient-related conditions. Various scientific societies have published guidelines for managing the complications of regional anesthesia. Recently published clinical practice guidelines recommend ultrasound imaging as a useful tool in performing a central neuraxial block.

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