Medición por resonancia magnética de la distancia piel-espacio peridural en pacientes del Hospital Central Militar.

Introduction. The distance from the skin to the epidural space is a key element in the lumbar puncture technique, specifically when it has to carry out an epidural block, this in order to spare the patient one of the most frequent complications of the procedure, and are even cause of action for the anesthesiologist, the dural puncture. The published literature so far and from different sources around the world describes the distance between 3-7 cm, with variations according to author and nationality of the study population. The present study addresses this distance using MRI. Objective. To compare with other reports resulting from radiation measurement in Mexican population. Materials and methods. Patients Central Military Hospital, so they obtained MRIs of lumbar male and female patients, 18 to 75 years old, studied in 2011 in the Central Military Hospital in order to carry out the measurement occasion of the study and feasibility angle. Were excluded from the study which showed resonances those structural abnormality in the patient anatomy. Results. The average distance P-EP was 5.428 cm. with a standard deviation of 1.582 cm. The feasibility angle averaged 15.54° with a standard deviation of 6.14°, indicating that the average measurement obtained from patients in the Central Military Hospital in the parameter is considered normal for the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]