Persistent neurological deficits after intrathecal administration of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine: A case report

Hahm, Tae Soo; Ko, Justin Sangwook; Jin, Hyun Seung

Case Report

Spinal Pain

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2010;5(2):115-117.
Published online April 30, 2010.

Persistent neurological deficits after intrathecal administration of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine: A case report

Tae Soo Hahm, Justin Sangwook Ko, Hyun Seung Jin

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. tshahm@skku.edu

Abstract

Persistent neurologic injury is a rare but feared complication of neuroaxial anesthesia. Local anesthetics are believed to be an important cause. A 68-year-old man with an ASA physical status of 2 was scheduled to undergo elective knee arthroplasty. He had no clinical evidence of neurological deficits before the operation. Spinal anesthesia was administered using 10 mg of 0.5% bupivacaine and 20microgram of fentanyl without difficulty or complications during the procedure. On the second postoperative day, the patient complained of bilateral weakness in his lower extremities.

Key Words: Bupivacaine, Cauda equina syndrome