Pneumocephalus and Chemical Meningitis after Inadvertent Dural Puncture during Lumbar Epidural Injection

Intracranial air following spinal anesthesia: A case report

Intraspinal air is a rare complication of intraspinal anesthesia. Reported cases of intraspinal or intracranial air are mostly associated with the air insufflation resistance test, while those associated with the normal saline resistance test are rare. This article presents a case of intracranial air following intraspinal anesthesia performed using the normal saline resistance method. The patient was a 38-year-old female who underwent elective intraspinal anesthesia for 1 week without obvious cause of perianal swelling and pain. The procedure included incision and drainage of perianal abscess, excision of anal fistula with internal thread insertion, mixed hemorrhoid exfoliation and internal ligation, and electrocautery of anal papilloma. On the second postoperative day, she experienced headaches, dizziness, severe neck and back pain, along with numbness in the arms and inability to touch or move them. Resting in a supine position did not alleviate the symptoms. Head CT revealed scattered multiple air collections in the cranial cavity, with a total volume of approximately 3 mL. After a multidisciplinary consultation, symptomatic supportive treatment including bed rest, fluid supplementation, oxygen therapy, and anti-inflammatory and analgesic treatment was administered, leading to improvement and discharge. Follow-up at 6 months showed no discomfort. Currently, intracranial air is mostly associated with the air insufflation resistance test, while cases following the normal saline resistance method are rare, with unclear pathophysiological mechanisms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, necessitating further research.

A Case Report on Pneumocephalus That Occurred Following an Epidural Ozone Injection During Percutaneous Lumbar Disc Decompression Surgery

Spinal decompression is a common procedure in spinal, neurosurgery, and orthopedic surgery. While there are a number of known complications associated with it, pneumocephalus (air in the brain) is generally not a recognized complication postoperatively. However, in rare cases, it can occur as a result of spinal decompression surgery. We describe a case of a 54-year-old female patient who developed pneumocephalus following percutaneous lumbar disc decompression surgery of the lumbar spine. The patient presented to the emergency department 3 hours after discharge with severe restlessness, cognitive impairment, nausea, vomiting, and lack of balance. During symptomatic treatment in the emergency department and 1 hour after taking oxygen, the patient's vital signs improved. Before discharge, a computed tomography (CT) scan was taken again, which showed the disappearance of radiological symptoms. The patient was discharged 12 hours after hospitalization with suitable clinical conditions. Obtaining urgent imaging tests (magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] or CT) at the cranial and spinal levels, along with an electroencephalogram, allows us to diagnose the problem and determine the appropriate course of treatment, whether pharmacological or surgical.

Characteristics of patients with meningitis after lumbar epidural steroid injection

To investigate the clinical, laboratory, and radiological features of meningitis after lumbar epidural steroid injection (M-ESI) without accompanying spinal infection, data of patients with meningitis admitted between January 2014 and December 2021 in a single center were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, patients with a recent history of lumbar ESI were identified, and their medical records were collected. Patients with concomitant infections other than meningitis, including spinal epidural abscess, were excluded. Seven patients with M-ESI were identified. All patients presented with headache and fever without focal neurological deficits, and headache developed shortly after a procedure (median, 4 hours). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis showed neutrophilic pleocytosis (median, 6729/μL), elevated protein level (median, 379.1 mg/dL), decreased ratio of CSF glucose to serum glucose (median, 0.29), and elevated lactate level (median, 8.64 mmol/L). Serum level of C-reactive protein was elevated in 6, but serum procalcitonin level was within normal range. No causative pathogen was identified in the microbiological studies. The most frequent radiologic feature was sulcal hyperintensity on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images (57%), followed by pneumocephalus (43%). Symptoms subsided in a short period (median, 1 day) after initiating treatment with antibiotics and adjuvant intravenous corticosteroids. None of the patients experienced neurological sequelae. Though the cardinal symptoms and CSF findings of M-ESI were comparable to those of bacterial meningitis, M-ESI seems to have distinctive characteristics regarding the clinical course, laboratory parameters, and pneumocephalus.

[Lumbar transforaminal epidural block for treatment of low back pain with radicular pain]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the efficacy of lumbar transforaminal epidural block (LTEB) for treatment of low back pain with radicular pain.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 78 patients with low back pain and radicular pain admitted to the Department of Orthopedics of Beijing Chuiyangliu Hospital from March, 2017 to April, 2019. Thirty-three of the patients received treatment with LTEB (LTEB group), and 45 received comprehensive conservative treatment including traction, massage, acupuncture and physiotherapy (control group). The demographic and clinical data of the two groups were compared. The patients were followed up for 3 to 24 months, and numerical rating scale (NRS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores of the patients were evaluated before the treatment and at 2 weeks, 1 month and 3 months after discharge to assess the efficacy of the treatment.

RESULTS

The mean operation time of LTEB was 25.7 7.5 min (15-45 min). After the operation, 5 patients developed weakness of the lower limbs but all recovered within 24-72 h. The patients receiving LTEB all showed significantly decreased NRS scores for low back and radicular pain and ODI scores after the operation (P=0.001). At 2 weeks after the operation, the patients receiving LTEB showed significant relief of low back pain as compared with the patients in the control group (t=2.224, P=0.034), and the difference in NRS scores for low back pain between the two groups tended to diminish over time (F=1.743, P=0.183). Treatment with LTEB resulted in obvious relief of radicular pain and significant reduction of the ODI score of the patients (P < 0.001), and such improvements became more obvious over time after LTEB (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

As a minimally invasive approach, LTEB is effective for treatment of low back pain with radicular pain and can produce good short-term effects of pain relief and functional improvement.

Chemical meningitis after cervical transforaminal epidural steroid injection: a case report

We herein report a case of chemical meningitis that developed after cervical transforaminal steroid injection. A 49-year-old man presented with symptoms of meningitis (severe headache and neck stiffness) after cervical transforaminal steroid injection at the right C5-6 level. The injection solution was a mixture of lidocaine (0.3 mL), hyaluronidase (1 mL), placenta hydrolysate (2 mL), and normal saline (1 mL). The patient developed symptoms of meningitis 2.5 hours after the cervical epidural injection. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis was performed 1 day after the injection, and the results showed an elevated white blood cell count at 7106 cells/µL. The patient's CSF analysis findings and symptoms did not differ from those of bacterial meningitis. However, considering that his symptoms developed 2.5 hours after the epidural injection, we believe that the patient developed chemical meningitis; therefore, he was symptomatically treated with an analgesic. Three days after the cervical transforaminal epidural injection, the patient experienced complete relief from the headache and neck stiffness. A Gram stain of the CSF revealed no organisms. Hence, the diagnosis of chemical meningitis was confirmed. Clinicians should be knowledgeable about the risk of this complication.