Peroneal nerve palsy following acupuncture treatment. A case report.

Abstract

Acupuncture is an increasingly popular treatment method used to relieve pain. Adverse events related to acupuncture have been reported 1-3 rarely. The purpose of this report is to describe what we believe to be the first case of peroneal nerve palsy caused by penetration and breakage of an acupuncture needle. Our patient was informed that data concerning the case would be submitted for publication. A sixty-two-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a left dropfoot and anterior pain and numbness in the left leg. There was no history of spinal disorder or diabetes mellitus. Initially, the patient had a spontaneous onset of acute posterior pain in the left leg. Her general practitioner diagnosed sciatica and prescribed bed rest. One week later, because of persistent symptoms, she received the first of a series of acupuncture treatments, and the pain decreased after several treatments. During the sixth treatment, she felt a sudden radiating pain in the anterior part of the left leg when the acupuncture needle was inserted. A burning sensation and numbness in the anterior part of the left leg occurred immediately after this treatment. When the patient was stepping out of the bathtub on the following night, she noticed a left dropfoot for the first time, and she experienced difficulty with walking. The pain, burning sensation, numbness, and weakness in the left leg persisted. After receiving additional acupuncture treatments, she consulted a neurologist, who diagnosed an L5 radiculopathy and referred her to the orthopaedic department. On …