The Korean Journal of Pain

The Korean Pain Society (대한통증학회)
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Incidence of Paresthesia Related to the Insertion Length of Catheter during the Epidural Catheterization

경막외강 카테터 삽입 시 삽입 길이와 감각이상의 빈도

  • Lim, Jun Goo (Shintong Pain Clinic) ;
  • Kim, Young Jae (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University) ;
  • Cho, Jae Heung (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University) ;
  • Lee, Sang Eun (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University) ;
  • Kim, Young Hwan (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University) ;
  • Lim, Se Hoon (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University) ;
  • Lee, Jeong Han (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University) ;
  • Lee, Kun Moo (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University) ;
  • Cheong, Soon Ho (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University) ;
  • Choi, Young Kyun (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University) ;
  • Shin, Chee Mahn (Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University)
  • 임준구 (신통의원) ;
  • 김영재 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실) ;
  • 조재흥 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실) ;
  • 이상은 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실) ;
  • 김영환 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실) ;
  • 임세훈 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실) ;
  • 이정한 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실) ;
  • 이근무 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실) ;
  • 정순호 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실) ;
  • 최영균 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실) ;
  • 신치만 (인제대학교 의과대학 부산백병원 마취통증의학교실)
  • Received : 2007.03.22
  • Accepted : 2007.06.12
  • Published : 2007.06.30
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Abstract

Background: Continuous epidural catheterization is a popular and effective procedure for postoperative analgesia. However, continuous epidural catheterization has associated complications such as venous puncture, dural puncture, subarachnoid cannulation, suboptimal catheter placement, and paresthesia because the tip of the epidural catheter touches thenerves of the dura in the epidural space. In this study, we compared the incidence of paresthesia in two different lengths of epidural catheter insertion. Methods: One hundred women undergoing gynecologic or orthopedic surgery were enrolled in this prospective, double-blinded, randomized study. All patients were randomly divided into two groups based on the insertion length of the epidural catheter 2 cm (group A) or 4 cm (group B). A Tuohy needle was inserted in the lumbarspinal region with a bevel directed cephalad by use of the median approach, and then the epidural space was confirmed by the loss of resistance technique with air. While the practitioner inserted an epidural catheter into the epidural space, a blind observer checked for paresthesia or withdrawal movement. Results: In 97 included patients, 30.6% of the patients in group A (n = 49) had paresthesia, versus 31.3% in group B (n = 48). Withdrawal movements were represented in 2% and 6% of the patients in group A and group B, respectively. There was no difference in the incidence of paresthesia and withdrawal movement between the two groups. Conclusions: There is no clear relationship for the incidence of catheter-related paresthesia according to the catheter length inserted into the epidural space for epidural analgesia.

Keywords

References

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