Possible late complications after peridural anaesthesia
Litschgi, M.; Schenk, W.
Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde 38(10): 840-844
1978
ISSN/ISBN: 0016-5751 PMID: 151646 Document Number: 136226
140 women who had received peridural anaesthesia (PDA) during childbirth at the University Gynaecological Hospital, Basel, in 1977, were retrospectively questioned on the occurrence of backache and headache during the puerperium subsequent to peridural anaesthesia. The "matched pairs" technique was employed for the controls. The inquiry revealed that in the PDA group 69 women (49%) and in the control group 39 women (28%) complained of increased backache during the puerperium. For 30 patients (44%) the complaints were a frequently disturbing factor in their everyday work. In the control group, this was true of 11 women (28%). 46 patients (33%) of the PDA group complained of increased headache during the puerperium, against 16 patients (11%) of the control group. 22 women (49%) of the PDA group felt disturbed in their daily work against 4 women (25%) among the controls. The findings are compared with data in literature, and the aetiology of the symptoms is discussed.