1. Spinal Opiate Administration
- Author
-
Giancarlo Barolat, Carol Mei-Lin Tom, and Lorraine M. Arias
- Subjects
Adult ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Pain ,Subdural Space ,Subarachnoid Space ,Catheters, Indwelling ,Lumbar ,Cerebrospinal fluid ,Humans ,Medicine ,Subdural space ,Morphine ,business.industry ,Chronic pain ,medicine.disease ,Extravasation ,Surgery ,Radiography ,Catheter ,Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Spinal Cord ,Anesthesia ,Chronic Disease ,Equipment Failure ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Subarachnoid space ,business ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Continuous spinal opiate administration via permanently implantable drug delivery devices has been proven to provide profound analgesia for chronic pain conditions. We present a case in which the catheter of an implantable subarachnoid device was misplaced into the subdural/extra-arachnoid space despite the free flow of cerebrospinal fluid. This was verified by x-ray dye studies. It is postulated that this misplacement of the catheter likely occurred as a result of recent lumbar punctures the patient had undergone. Extravasation of cerebrospinal fluid created a false space and contributed to the misplacement and ultimate failure of the device to provide analgesia.
- Published
- 1990