[Accidental dural puncture during epidural injection of corticosteroids: a different approach?]

We report 6 cases diagnosed with accidental dural puncture after epidural injection of corticosteroids for low back pain. All the patients reported postdural puncture headache during their stay in the postanesthetic recovery unit. For 3 patients, pain resolved with treatment given in the recovery unit. Two other patients also required mild analgesics for 1 week. In the last patient, a blood patch was used to treat incapacitating headache 22 days after the epidural procedure and mild analgesics were needed for 4 more weeks. It is important to establish a protocol for treating postdural puncture headache in pain clinics to facilitate decision making. Good physician-patient communication is necessary to avoid refusals for permission for other epidural techniques and to facilitate management of symptoms.