Treatment of obstetric post-dural puncture headache. Part 2: epidural blood patch

The 2009-12 MBRRACE-UK report highlighted the deaths of two women in whom dural puncture had occurred during insertion of a labour epidural catheter. Despite suffering long-term headaches, neither woman was adequately followed-up after discharge from hospital. Death resulted from a cerebral vein thrombosis in one case and a subdural haematoma in the other. Due to significant variation in the treatment of obstetric post-dural puncture headache, an Obstetric Anaesthetists' Association working group was set up to produce evidence-based guidelines to guide clinicians. These guidelines have been condensed into two review articles. In this second review, the role of an epidural blood patch is discussed using a question and answer format.

[Post-dural puncture headache and blood-patch: theoretical and practical approach]

OBJECTIVE

To review the current research and formulate a rational approach to the physiopathology, cause and treatment of post-dural puncture headache (PDPH).

DATA SOURCES

Articles published to December 2011 were obtained through a search of Medline for the MeSh terms "epidural blood-patch" and "post-dural puncture headache".

STUDY SELECTION

Six hundred and eighty-two pertinent studies were included and 200 were analysed.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Resulting of a dural tap after spinal anaesthesia or diagnostic lumbar puncture or as a complication of epidural anaesthesia, PDPH occurs when an excessive leak of cerebrospinal fluid leads to intracranial hypotension associated to a resultant cerebral vasodilatation. Reduction in cerebrospinal fluid volume in upright position may cause traction of the intracranial structure and stretching of vessels. Typically postural, headache may be associated to nausea, photophobia, tinnitus or arm pain and changes in hearing acuity. In severe cases, there may be cranial nerve dysfunction and nerve palsies secondary to traction on those nerves. The Epidural Blood-Patch (EBP) is considered as the "gold standard" in the treatment of PDHP because it induces a prolonged elevation of subarachnoid and epidural pressures, whereas such elevation is transient with saline or dextran. EBP should be performed within 24-48hours of onset of headache; the optimum volume of epidural blood appears to be 15-20mL. Severe complications following EBP are exceptional. The use of echography may be safety puncture. The optimum timing of epidural blood-patch, the resort of repeating procedure if the symptomatology does not disappear, the alternative to the conventional medical treatment need to be determined by future clinical trial.

Postpartum Seizure and Ischaemic Stroke following Dural Puncture and Epidural Blood Patch

A 33-year-old parturient experienced seizures, then an ischaemic stroke after caesarean section, while undergoing an epidural blood patch for dural puncture. A diagnosis of normotensive late postpartum eclampsia, with either a posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome or postpartum vasculopathy, leading to stroke, was made – based primarily on a temporal relationship to the postpartum period and consistent findings on magnetic resonance imaging and angiography scans and an electroencephalogram. The difficulties in definitively elucidating the cause of seizures and cerebral infarction in the postpartum period and the impact of anaesthetic interventions in this case are discussed.

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome with Vasospasm in a Postpartum Woman After Postdural Puncture Headache Following Spinal Anesthesia

We describe a postpartum woman who, after an uneventful pregnancy, developed posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome after spinal anesthesia, complicated by postdural puncture headache.

Cerebral vasospasm following intracranial hypotension caused by cerebrospinal fluid leak from an incidental lumbar durotomy

✓ The authors report on the unusual case of a patient with intracranial hypotension following an incidental durotomy complicated by an extensive but reversible cerebral vasospasm. Despite the dural tear repair and correction of the intracranial hypotension, the vasospasm ran its course. The precise mechanism of the cerebral vasospasm in this patient is unclear.

Postpartum post-dural puncture headache: is your differential diagnosis complete?

We describe a patient with an intracerebral haemorrhage following an accidental dural puncture during an attempted epidural for pain relief in labour. Anaesthetists need to include intracerebral haemorrhage in the differential diagnosis of post-dural puncture headache in the puerperium.