• Murali Chakravarthy, Patil Thimmangowda, Jayaprakash Krishnamurthy, Shivananda Nadiminti, and Vivek Jawali.
• Wockhardt Heart Institute, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. chakravarthy@vsnl.com
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2005 Feb 1;19(1):44-8.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to present an audit report of thoracic epidural anesthesia without permanent neurologic deficits in more than 2,000 patients undergoing cardiac surgery.DesignA prospective audit of cases conducted over a 13-year period.SettingTertiary referral heart hospital.ParticipantsTwo thousand one hundred thirteen patients over a period of 13 years.InterventionsEpidural catheters were inserted at the C7 to T3 intervertebral space on the day before the operation in all patients; cardiac surgery was performed with or without cardiopulmonary bypass.Measurements And ResultsThe authors did not encounter any permanent neurologic deficits in their series. The authors encountered 18 (0.85%) primary dural punctures and 4 cases (0.18%) of temporary neurologic deficits.ConclusionThis series adds to the worldwide experience of the use of epidural analgesia concomitantly with anticoagulation in cardiac surgery without serious complications.

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