[Arachnoiditis following spinal anesthesia-Case report and review of the literature]

A 61-year-old woman underwent a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) operation due to stress incontinence. After technically difficult spinal anesthesia with two attempts the patient developed symptoms of nerve irritation, complained about neckache and headache and showed signs of agitation. The regimen was shifted to general anesthesia and surgery was performed. Because of postoperatively persistent headache and sensory disturbances an MRI scan of the lumbar spine was performed on the first postoperative day without pathological findings. The patient was able to leave the hospital after 1 week with significant relief of symptoms but 3 weeks later she developed neurocognitive impairment with memory deficits. A second MRI scan of the head now showed signs of disturbance of CSF circulation with hydrocephalus. Treatment was performed with drainage and ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Further evaluation showed a severe, multisegmental arachnoiditis and the patient developed a progressive paraparesis. The patient presented her case for assessment to a commission on medical malpractice 13 months after anesthesia. The commission detected no treatment errors. In connection to the case report a literature review of characteristics and etiologies of chronic adhesive arachnoiditis is given, which is a known but very rare complication of spinal anesthesia or similar procedures.

[YouTube as an information source of spinal anesthesia, epidural anesthesia and combined spinal and epidural anesthesia]

INTRODUCTION

Social media as YouTube have become a part of daily life and many studies evaluated health-related YouTube videos. Our aim was to evaluate videos available on YouTube for the conformity to textbook information and their sufficiency as a source for patient information.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

A search of the YouTube website was performed using the keywords "spinal anesthesia, epidural anesthesia, combined spinal epidural anesthesia". Firstly, 180 videos were evaluated and the characteristics of the video were noted, and the features of the video too were noted if the video was regarding neuraxial anesthesia. Questionnaire 1 (Q1) evaluating the video quality relating to neuraxial anesthesia was designed using a textbook as reference and questionnaire 2 (Q2) was designed for evaluating patient information.

RESULTS

After exclusions, 40 videos were included in the study. There was no difference in Q1 or Q2 scores when videos were grouped into 4 quarters according to their appearance order, time since upload or views to length rate (p>0.05). There was no statistical difference between Q1 or Q2 scores for spinal, epidural or combined videos (p>0.05). Videos prepared by a healthcare institute have a higher score in both Questionnaires 1 and 2 (10.87±4.28 vs. 5.84±2.90, p=0.044 and 3.89±5.43 vs. 1.19±3.35, p=0.01 respectively).

CONCLUSION

Videos prepared by institutes, societies, etc. were of higher educational value, but were still very lacking. Videos should be prepared in adherence to available and up-to-date guidelines taking into consideration appropriate step by step explanation of each procedure, patient safety and frequently asked questions.

Spinal anesthesia revisited: toxicity of new and old drugs and compounds

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Neural toxicity of substances injected into the intrathecal space has been a matter of debate since the introduction of spinal anesthesia in clinical practice. In recent years, new local anesthetics and adjuvants have been proposed for intrathecal use, and new techniques such as the use of ultrasound have been propagated. The present review summarizes recent clinical and experimental data on the neurotoxic effects of drugs and substances used for or in conjunction with spinal anesthesia.

RECENT FINDINGS

Chloroprocaine has been demonstrated to be associated with a lower risk of transient neurologic symptoms compared with lidocaine. However, despite extensive research, the issue of chloroprocaine or bisulfite neurotoxicity has not yet been resolved.Recent experimental data have identified a smaller neurotoxic potential for ropivacaine compared to levobupivacaine, procaine and bupivacaine. The addition of epinephrine has not been shown to increase lidocaine neurotoxicity. In-vivo experimental data suggest that lidocaine and bupivacaine neurotoxicity is not enhanced in diabetic patients.Furthermore, intrathecal introduction of aqueous ultrasound gel has been demonstrated to cause a distinct neuroinflammatory reaction. Finally, a large cohort study did not find the use of chlorhexidine gluconate for skin disinfection before neuraxial block to be associated with the risk of adhesive arachnoiditis.

SUMMARY

Clinical data suggest a high safety profile for intrathecal drugs and substances used for or in conjunction with spinal anesthesia. Recent experimental models for toxicity have provided further insight into the mechanisms and demonstrated possible, albeit clinically small differences in the relative neurotoxic potential of intrathecal drugs. This may contribute to a further increase in the safe use of spinal anesthesia in the clinical setting.

Chlorhexidine gluconate dressings reduce bacterial colonization rates in epidural and peripheral regional catheters

Introduction. Bacterial colonization of catheter tips is common in regional anesthesia and is a suspected risk factor for infectious complications. This is the first study evaluating the effect of CHG-impregnated dressings on bacterial colonization of regional anesthesia catheters in a routine clinical setting. Methods. In this prospective study, regional anesthesia catheter infection rates were examined in two groups of patients with epidural and peripheral regional catheters. In the first group, regional anesthesia was dressed with a conventional draping. The second group of patients underwent catheter dressing using a CHG-impregnated draping. Removed catheters and the insertion sites were both screened for bacterial colonization. Results. A total of 337 catheters from 308 patients were analysed. There was no significant reduction of local infections in either epidural or peripheral regional anesthesia catheters in both CHG and conventional groups. In the conventional group, 21% of the catheter tips and 41% of the insertion sites showed positive culture results. In the CHG-group, however, only 3% of the catheter tips and 8% of the insertion sites were colonised. Conclusion. CHG dressings significantly reduce bacterial colonization of the tip and the insertion site of epidural and peripheral regional catheters. However, no reductions in rates of local infections were seen.

Safety guideline: skin antisepsis for central neuraxial blockade

Concise guidelines are presented that recommend the method of choice for skin antisepsis before central neuraxial blockade. The Working Party specifically considered the concentration of antiseptic agent to use and its method of application. The advice presented is based on previously published guidelines, laboratory and clinical studies, case reports, and on the known properties of antiseptic agents.