[Neurologic complications after epidural analgesia]

Abstract

Epidural analgesia is regarded as gold standard after major abdominal or thoracic surgery in combination with general anaesthesia. Apart from well documented positive effects of epidural analgesia on the postoperative period, evidence for the incidence of neurologic complications is less clear. Complications include direct spinal cord damage during epidural puncture, epidural hematoma, abscesses or meningitis. The review article gives an overview about current data on neurologic complications related to epidural analgesia and shows feasibility of prevention and early detection. Furthermore a therapeutic approach in case of a neurologic incident will be demonstrated.