gms | German Medical Science

55. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie e. V. (DGNC)
1. Joint Meeting mit der Ungarischen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC) e. V.

25. bis 28.04.2004, Köln

Life-threatening infections as iatrogenic complications of outpatient pain treatment - Report on 7 cases

Lebensbedrohliche Infektionen als Komplikationen ambulanter Schmerzbehandlung – dargestellt an 7 Fällen

Meeting Abstract

Search Medline for

  • corresponding author Michael Schütze - Abteilung für Neurochirurgie der Chirurgischen Universitätsklinik, Rostock
  • J. Piek - Abteilung für Neurochirurgie der Chirurgischen Universitätsklinik, Rostock
  • S. Mann - Abteilung für Neurochirurgie der Chirurgischen Universitätsklinik, Rostock

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. Ungarische Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. 55. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie e.V. (DGNC), 1. Joint Meeting mit der Ungarischen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. Köln, 25.-28.04.2004. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2004. DocP 13.139

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/dgnc2004/04dgnc0423.shtml

Published: April 23, 2004

© 2004 Schütze et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.


Outline

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Objective

Invasive treatment of radicular pain by various methods including epidural injections, epidural catheterization and periradicular infiltrations has become very popular in Germany. Severe complications of these, mainly, outpatient procedures may occur but are rarely published.

Methods

The authors present a prospective clinical series of 7 life-threatening infections occurring within 2 years following such procedures.

Results

The patient group included 4 males and 3 females (age 32 - 71 years). There were 3 cases of pyogenic meningitis, 3 paracervical abscesses, and 1 subdural/epidural emypema/spondylitis with subsequent septicemia and multi-organ failure. Causative organisms were exclusively E.coli and Staph. aureus species. Besides proper antibiotic treatment 5 patients were operated on (one removal of a remaining lumbar catheter tip, 3 evacuations of cervical abcesses, and one spondylectomy /spondylodesis. 6 patients recovered completely; one patient died as a result of her septicemia after 6 weeks of ICU treatment.

Conclusions

Infectious complications following invasive outpatient pain treatment are often neglected. For medicolegal reasons, however, it should be kept in mind that even a "harmless" injection may lead to life-threatening complications and may even kill patients.