International journal of obstetric anesthesia
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Int J Obstet Anesth · Oct 2008
Ten years of experience with accidental dural puncture and post-dural puncture headache in a tertiary obstetric anaesthesia department.
Accidental dural puncture (ADP) and post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) are important complications of obstetric regional anaesthesia. ⋯ The incidence of ADP, PDPH, blood patching and repeat blood patching is similar to previous studies. Many ADPs are unrecognised during epidural insertion. CSE does not appear to increase the risk of ADP or PDPH; 29-gauge rather than 27-gauge pencil-point spinal needles conferred no benefit. Inserting the epidural catheter intrathecally did not significantly reduce the incidence of PDPH and blood patching in our series.