Intracranial hypotension syndrome treated with an epidural blood patch
Cuartero del Pozo, A.B.; Arcas Molina, M.; Gerónimo Pardo, M.; Calero Calero, M.R.; Cortiñas Saez, M.; Jiménez Vizuete, J.M.; Gómez Garrido, J.
Revista Espanola de Anestesiologia y Reanimacion 52(4): 235-238
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 0034-9356 PMID: 15901029 Document Number: 589305
A 41-year-old woman was admitted to the internal medicine department to assess incapacitating postural headache. Clinical findings suggested the need for computed tomography and nuclear magnetic resonance scanning of the head, which led to a diagnosis of spontaneous intracranial hypotension syndrome. Later, isotopic cysternography and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of the spine were used unsuccessfully to try to locate the cerebrospinal fluid leak that caused the syndrome. When conservative treatment proved ineffective, the pain clinic was called in to perform an epidural blood patch procedure. The patch led to an improvement in symptoms and the syndrome resolved completely after a second lumbar blood patch was used.