Antenatal blood patch in a pregnant woman with spontaneous intracranial hypotension

Management of Labor and Anesthesia in a Patient With a History of Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension: A Case Report With Literature Review

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a rare disorder characterized by continuous or intermittent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage from the CSF cavity, which causes symptoms such as headache or neck pain upon standing. However, no well-established measures concerning the type of delivery and anesthesia for pregnant women with a history of SIH have been reported. A woman had developed SIH 9 years earlier from lifting luggage into an overhead bin with stretching movements, which required continuous saline epidural infusion for recovery. Upon the patient's pregnancy at the age of 35 years, although an elective cesarean section (CS) under general anesthesia was planned to avoid SIH recurrence, the patient had an emergency CS at 36 weeks. Since there is no prescribed method of delivery and anesthetic management for patients with a history of SIH, it is important to plan and adapt a treatment strategy based on the patient's wishes and the institution's protocols. As a sidenote, we reviewed the available literature regarding the type of delivery and anesthesia for pregnant women with a history of SIH.

Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension in Pregnancy

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a debilitating disease typically featuring orthostatic headache and caused by a spinal CSF leak. This review will describe the characteristics of SIH in pregnant patients and the associated unique management and treatment considerations.

RECENT FINDINGS

Herein, a novel case is reported of a 41-year-old woman who presented with SIH pre-conception but saw marked improvement of symptoms after 5 weeks antepartum and symptom recurrence 2 months post-partum. A literature review of SIH in pregnancy revealed 14 reported patients across 10 studies since 2000. All the reported cases resulted in delivery of healthy infants and symptomatic improvement with conservative management or a variety of treatment modalities including non-targeted epidural blood patch (EBP). Clinical and imaging features of SIH in pregnancy are reviewed. We hypothesize an antenatal protective mechanism against SIH symptoms through cephalad redistribution of CSF volume from the spinal to intracranial compartments related to uterine growth and decreased CSF volume within the lumbar cistern. Treatment recommendations are discussed including duration of bed rest and decision for non-targeted multi-site EBPs. When required, non-invasive diagnostic spine MRI using fat-suppressed axial T2-weighted imaging may be helpful.

Efficacy and safety of cervicothoracic epidural blood patch for patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension

BACKGROUND

Epidural blood patch (EBP) is a generally effective treatment for spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) caused by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage through the spinal dura mater. It is still unclear, however, whether application near the leakage site (targeted EBP) is more effective than distal application (untargeted EBP). Further, EBP targeted to high thoracic or cervical spine levels is infrequent due to greater technical requirements and potential complications. Here we examined the safety and efficacy of EBP applied to high thoracic or cervical spine levels.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and outcome data of 13 patients receiving cervical or high thoracic EBP for SIH. All patients were referred by neurologists following poor response to conservative treatment and presented with persistent headache aggravated by orthostatic changes.

RESULTS

Neuroimaging confirmed CSF leakage, and targeted EBP resulted in immediate pain improvement. Repeated injections provided additional improvement for patients with recurrent headache. No serious adverse events were documented during follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Based on recent studies and our clinical experience, we conclude that EBP targeted to the high thoracic and cervical spine is safe and effective for early-stage SIH.

Iterative epidural blood patch for recurrent spontaneous intracranial hypotension during pregnancy

A 30-year-old woman at 28 weeks presented with sudden onset of intense headache, epigastric pain, hot flushes, nausea, vomiting, and stiff neck. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging showed pathognonomic signs of spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH). Epidural blood patch was performed 2 times during pregnancy for symptoms relief in spite of medical treatments. No other recurrence was noted until the spontaneous delivery. SIH is a rare entity during pregnancy which may be diagnosed using magnetic resonance imaging. Iterative Epidural blood patch should be proposed to patients with SIH during pregnancy because it allowed faster symptoms improvement and patient relief with complete recovery than medical treatment only.

Recurrent spontaneous intracranial hypotension in early pregnancy

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is an uncommon condition characterised by postural headache secondary to low cerebrospinal fluid pressure. Here we present a case of recurrence of SIH in early pregnancy in a 26-year-old woman. She first presented at the age of 21 years at 15 weeks' gestation with a history of headache, nausea, vomiting, neck stiffness and photophobia. Findings from a MRI brain scan led to a diagnosis of SIH. She was treated with autologous epidural blood patching and remained asymptomatic until her second pregnancy 5 years later, when she re-presented at 16 weeks' gestation with similar symptoms. She was again diagnosed with SIH and required a repeat treatment of autologous epidural blood patching. She subsequently remained symptom free and delivered a healthy boy at term.