[Cervical epidural hematoma caused by cervical twisting after epidural anesthesia: a case report]

A case of cervical epidural hematoma caused by cervical twisting after epidural anesthesia was reported. A 41-year-old man who had had anterior fusion of C5 - 7 using a plate due to cervical spondylosis fifteen months before admission, had undergone epidural anesthesia through the C7/T1 interspace without difficulty for shoulder pain in a pain clinic. Two hours after injection, he complained of severe pain in his neck and both shoulders just after cervical twisting as was his custom. Within minutes he noted paresis of his left extremities. Neurological examination on admission revealed left side dominant tetraparesis and loss of pain and temperature sensations below the level of T4 on his right side. Laboratory data analysis and coagulation tests were normal. CT scans and MRI demonstrated an epidural hematoma with a small amount of air extending from C3 to the upper margin of C7. Four hours after the onset, a laminoplasty was performed from C3 to C7 with total removal of the hematoma. No bleeding site or any vascular abnormality was found to account for the hematoma formation. He was discharged with good recovery after operation. Most of the reported epidural hematomas associated with epidural anesthesia were related to coagulopathy, anticoagulant therapy or difficult puncture. On review of the literature, this is the first case of spinal epidural hematoma cause by cervical twisting after spinal anesthesia and which was without impaired coagulation or difficult spinal puncture. Cervical epidural hematoma should be considered as a possible complication in patients with pain or neurological deficits after some cervical manipulations.