Case report: inadvertent intrathecal placement of a pulmonary artery catheter introducer

We present a case of unintended intrathecal cannulation by a pulmonary artery catheter introducer in a patient scheduled for coronary surgery. This complication was likely due to multiple attempts of placing the guidewire. Switching to the straight tip of the guidewire may have created a false route, facilitating entrance in the subarachnoid space. A lumbar intrathecal catheter was placed to maintain a low pressure at the cervical dural puncture site by draining 10 mL cerebrospinal fluid per hour. After removal of the lumbar drain, the patient experienced symptoms consistent with postdural puncture headache. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine could not reveal the location of the possible leak. A lumbar epidural blood patch alleviated all complaints. One month later the patient underwent surgery successfully. We hypothesize that ultrasound imaging may have prevented this complication.