Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia
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J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. · Apr 2015
Complications of Spinal Fluid Drainage in Thoracic and Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm Surgery in 724 Patients Treated from 1987 to 2013.
To study complications from spinal fluid drainage in open thoracic/thoracoabdominal and thoracic endovascular aortic aneurysm repairs to define risks of spinal fluid drainage. ⋯ 10% of patients had bloody spinal fluid; half of these had intracranial bleeding, which was almost always asymptomatic. In these patients, immediately stopping drainage and correcting coagulopathy may decrease the risk of serious complications. Neurologic deficit from spinal fluid drainage is uncommon (0.8%), but has high morbidity and mortality.