International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Apr 2005
Case ReportsFailed regional anesthesia with reduced spinal bupivacaine dosage in a parturient with achondroplasia presenting for urgent cesarean section.
A 36-year-old patient with a history of previous back surgery, asthma, latex allergy and achondroplasia presented for urgent cesarean delivery at 31 weeks' gestation for worsening nonimmune fetal hydrops. The fetus was diagnosed with trisomy 21 and achondroplasia. Because of the urgent clinical situation, the patient was given a spinal anesthetic, which required supplemental intravenous sedation after delivery of the fetus. This case report discusses the controversies in anesthetic management of this complicated patient and compromised fetus regarding general anesthesia, epidural, spinal and combined spinal-epidural anesthesia.
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Intracranial subdural hematoma is an exceptionally rare but life-threatening complication of spinal anesthesia. We report a case of intracranial subdural hematoma following spinal anesthesia for cesarean section in a 27-year-old woman. She developed a diffuse headache after surgery with a blood pressure of 220/140 mm Hg which was followed by generalized seizure activity. ⋯ She remained unconscious with a Glasgow coma scale of 5. The cranial tomography revealed a subdural hematoma with diffuse cerebral edema and cerebral tentorial herniation. When a patient complains of postdural puncture headache and then has seizure activity, one should consider alternative diagnoses, including that of a subdural hematoma, and carry out a careful examination, including magnetic resonance imaging or computerized tomography scan.