Complications And Controversies Of Regional Anaesthesia: A Review

SUMMARY: Complications of regional anaesthesia has been recognised from very long time. Fortunately serious complication are rare. Safe, effective practice of neuraxial anaesthesia requires a detailed knowledge of potential complications, their incidence and risk factors associated with their occurrence. The incidence of complication were higher for spinal than for epidural anaesthesia. These complications being rare, so existing studies are mainly retrospective, providing information about incidence and their associations but not necessarily demonstrate causality. There are many areas of controversies regarding the usage of regional anaesthesia i.e. in outpatient surgical procedures, epidural test dose, its safety in infected / febrile / immuno compromised patients, / in patients with neurological disorder and in patients receiving anti-coagulants. Recommendations proposed may be acceptable based on the judgment of the responsible anaesthesiologist. The consensus statements are designed to encourage safe and quality patient care but cannot guarantee a specific outcome.