Postpartum headache after epidural anaesthesia: Who to blame?

INTRODUCTION

Epidural analgesia is considered the preferred analgesic choice during labour. Post dural puncture headache (PDPH) is considered a potential complication of this analgesic technique and is a frequently hypothesis for any headache occurring after delivery. It is essential that anaesthetists and obstetricians are familiar with other possible differential diagnosis for postpartum headache (PPH).

CASE DESCRIPTION

37-year-old female presented after delivery with intense occipital pulsatile headache associated with neck radiation, nausea and vomiting, hemodynamically stable and normal neurologic physical examination. Abnormalities in thyroid hormone levels were found. CT-scan findings suggested pituitary apoplexy.

DISCUSSION

There are many differential diagnoses for PPH and some are rarely considered, such as pituitary apoplexy. It is essential to differentiate signs and symptoms of each diagnosis, since many of them overlap.

CONCLUSION

Not all postpartum headaches are PDPH and the first suspected diagnosis may not always be accurate.

Postpartum headache after epidural anaesthesia: Who to blame?

INTRODUCTION

Epidural analgesia is considered the preferred analgesic choice during labour. Post dural puncture headache (PDPH) is considered a potential complication of this analgesic technique and is a frequently hypothesis for any headache occurring after delivery. It is essential that anaesthetists and obstetricians are familiar with other possible differential diagnosis for postpartum headache (PPH).

CASE DESCRIPTION

37-year-old female presented after delivery with intense occipital pulsatile headache associated with neck radiation, nausea and vomiting, hemodynamically stable and normal neurologic physical examination. Abnormalities in thyroid hormone levels were found. CT-scan findings suggested pituitary apoplexy.

DISCUSSION

There are many differential diagnoses for PPH and some are rarely considered, such as pituitary apoplexy. It is essential to differentiate signs and symptoms of each diagnosis, since many of them overlap.

CONCLUSION

Not all postpartum headaches are PDPH and the first suspected diagnosis may not always be accurate.

Does post dural puncture headache exist in idiopathic intracranial hypertension? A pilot study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Occurrence of post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) after diagnostic lumbar puncture (LP) for idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) may seem very unlikely in clinical practice. Nevertheless, it has been suggested by several studies, mainly in sub-group analyses. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of PDPH in an IIH population and determine any eventual predictive factors of PDPH occurrence.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective multiple-center observational study. All newly diagnosed IIH patients who met the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3) or the Dandy modified criteria were included from three different French hospitals. They all underwent LP following the same process with the same type of needle. We recorded PDPH occurring within five days after LP, as defined by ICHD-3 criteria.

RESULTS

Seventy-four IIH patients were recruited, of whom 23 (31%) presented with PDPH. Neither classical risk factors for PDPH such as body mass index, age or gender, nor cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure, or specific IIH features were associated with occurrence of PDPH.

CONCLUSION

PDPH can occur after LP in IIH patients. Clinicians should be aware of this possible event during the IIH diagnosis assessment and should not automatically reconsider IIH diagnosis. PDPH prevention using an atraumatic needle and dedicated PDPH treatment seem relevant in IIH patients.

Post Dural Puncture Headache, Managed with Epidural Blood Patch, Is Associated with Subsequent Chronic Low Back Pain in Patients: a Pilot Study

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Post dural puncture headache (PDPH) is a relatively common complication which may occur in the setting of inadvertent dural puncture (DP) during labor epidural analgesia and during intentional DP during spinal anesthetic placement or diagnostic lumbar puncture. Few publications have established the long-term safety of an epidural blood patch (EBP) for the treatment of a PDPH.

RECENT FINDINGS

The aim of this pilot study was to examine the association of chronic low back pain (LBP) in patients who experienced a PDPH following labor analgesia and were treated with an EBP. A total of 146 patients were contacted and completed a survey questionnaire via telephone. The EBP group was found to be more likely to have chronic LBP (percentage difference 20% [95% CI 6-33%], RR 2.6 [95% CI 1.3-5.2]) and also LBP < 6 (percentage difference 24% [95% CI 9- 37%], RR 2.3 [95% CI 1.3-4.1]). There were no significant differences in the severity and descriptive qualities of pain between the EBP and non-EBP groups. Our findings suggest that PDPH treated with an EBP is associated with an increased prevalence of subsequent low back pain in parturients. The findings of this pilot study should spur further prospective research into identifying potential associations between DP, EBP, and chronic low back pain.

Intracranial subdural hematoma after epidural anesthesia: a case report and review of the literature

Background

Intracranial subdural hematoma occurring as a result of a procedure that causes a puncture of the spinal dura mater is extremely rare, with less than 100 cases reported. Often, this condition is initially misdiagnosed and treated as a post dural puncture headache.

Case presentation

A woman presented to our emergency department complaining of a headache 4 days after receiving epidural anesthesia during uncomplicated childbirth. The headache’s characteristics were consistent with a post dural puncture headache, and the patient was initially treated as such. Computed tomography later revealed the presence of bilateral intracranial subdural hematomas. In light of the patient’s clinical status, treatment involved cautious observation only. Repeat imaging revealed spontaneous resolution of the hematomas, and the patient had a benign clinical course.

Conclusions

Headaches are common in the postpartum period, often after receiving epidural or spinal anesthesia. While exceptionally rare, intracranial subdural hematoma may occur as a complication of any procedure that results in spinal dural puncture. The possibility of this potentially life-threatening complication must be kept in mind when evaluating these patients.

Intravenous theophylline rapidly decreases post-lumbar puncture headaches

When managing therapy for the post-lumbar puncture headaches (PLPHs), an efficacious, fast-acting, practical and safe method is preferred. Invasive methods have known complications and oral medications might be problematic when nausea and vomiting occurs with severe headaches. The aim of this study was to highlight the brief initial time for a remarkable decrease of PLPH pain levels after the administration of IV theophylline infusion. We observed that IV theophylline infusion has a rapid and marked effect on decreasing pain in PLPHs. At 30 min of theophylline infusion, mean VAS levels were decreased by 47.1 % and at 60 min of infusion, the decrease of pain was 61.9 %. We conclude that IV theophylline infusion is a rapidly effective, noninvasive, practical and low-cost way to treat PLPHs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to highlight both the efficacy and the speed of the effect of pain relief in PLPHs.