Incidence of Subdural Catheter Placement During Epidural Procedure Based on Fluoroscopic Imaging

Abstract

(Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2021;46:538–539) The percentage of failed epidural anesthesia placement due to subdural catheter placement is unknown. Subdural catheter placement is difficult to identify because it can occur despite having a negative test dose and negative aspiration of cerebrospinal fluid. This poses a problem to the patient because subdural placement may not penetrate anterior nerve roots, resulting in continued pain. This study utilized real-time fluoroscopic imaging in an effort to determine the incidence of subdural catheter placement during epidural anesthesia.