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  3. Peripartum Neurological Injury

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Obstetrics Anaesthesia

Tutorial 462
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Peripartum Neurological Injury

Mairead M. Hennessy1†, Stephen E. Smith2

1 Anaesthesiology Trainee, Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, Dublin,

Ireland 2 Consultant Obstetric Anaesthesiologist, Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

Illustrator: Eoin Kelleher, Anaesthesiology Trainee, Children’s Health Ireland, Temple Street Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

Edited by: James Brown, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia, British Columbia

Women’s Hospital, Canada; Gillian Abir, Clinical Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

† Corresponding author e-mail: drmhennessy@gmail.com

Published December 28, 2021

Abstract

This tutorial explains how to evaluate neuraxial anaesthesia in the obstetric patient. It details the complications of neuraxial anaesthesia and aids in the decision making process when to investigate further and the order of such investigations and their timing. The majority of peripartum neurological complications are due to compressive
neuropathy secondary to obstetric causes, and most recover spontaneously. The incidence of permanent neurological injury following neuraxial anaesthesia is estimated to be 1:80,000 to 1:320,425. This tutorial will be an invaluable tool to anaesthesia trainees and their colleagues.

creative commons

This work by WFSA is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/