The management of a postdural puncture headache in a child

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Andrew Liley1, M Manoharan, V Upadhyay

  • 1Birmingham Childrens Hospital, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, UK. andy.liley@bch.nhs.uk

Paediatric Anaesthesia
|July 9, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Postdural puncture headache (PDPH) can occur in children after epidural catheter placement for pain management. An epidural blood patch effectively treated a pediatric patient

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Anesthesiology
  • Neurosurgery
  • Pain Management

Background:

  • Epidural analgesia is utilized for perioperative pain management in pediatric surgical patients.
  • Postdural puncture headache (PDPH) is a potential complication following dural puncture.
  • PDPH can cause significant morbidity in pediatric patients.

Observation:

  • An 11-year-old girl developed severe postural headache and nausea post-pyeloplasty with epidural catheter placement.
  • Conservative management failed to alleviate the patient's symptoms.
  • A diagnosis of postdural puncture headache (PDPH) was established.

Findings:

  • The patient's PDPH symptoms were refractory to conservative treatment.
  • An epidural blood patch was administered for therapeutic intervention.
  • The epidural blood patch resulted in immediate and complete symptom resolution.

Implications:

  • This case underscores the occurrence of PDPH in the pediatric population.
  • It highlights the importance of considering PDPH in children experiencing characteristic symptoms post-epidural procedures.
  • Epidural blood patch should be considered a viable and effective treatment option for PDPH in pediatric patients.

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