Unsuspected intravascular migration of a thoracic epidural catheter in a thoracotomy patient: A case report.
- Author:
Karam NAM
1
;
Jeong Hwa SEO
;
Jae Hyon BAHK
Author Information
1. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea. bahkjh@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords:
Blood vessels;
Catheters;
Epidural analgesia;
Intraoperative complications;
Punctures
- MeSH:
Analgesia, Epidural;
Blood Vessels;
Catheters;
Epidural Space;
Glycosaminoglycans;
Humans;
Intraoperative Complications;
Intraoperative Period;
Male;
Punctures;
Thoracotomy
- From:Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
2013;8(3):184-186
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Thoracic epidural analgesia is the most effective method of managing post-thoracotomy pain. However, the catheter may be misplaced into the intrapleural, intercostal, subarachnoid, or intravascular space. Intravascular misplacement of a catheter can be detected by aspiration of blood or administration of a test dose of local anesthetic; however, these methods may result in a false-negative response. Moreover, a catheter placed in the epidural space may migrate into a blood vessel during the intraoperative period. Thus, the location of the catheter tip should always be determined before local anesthetic is administered. We report a case of intraoperative intravascular migration of a thoracic epidural catheter in a 32-year-old male who underwent left thoracotomy.
