Case Reports

Case Report: Can Steroids Help in a Case of Allodynia Following Spinal Anaesthesia for a Caesarean Section?

Authors:

Abstract

Most of the anaesthesia related neurological complications are associated with paresthesia upon introduction of the spinal needle. Steroids may shorten the duration of the effects caused by nerve injury. A 27-year-old female patient undergoing caesarean section experienced paresthesia during the intrathecal introduction of the spinal needle. After the spinal anaesthesia wore off, she developed tactile allodynia. Intravenous hydrocortisone was given; marked improvement of pain and allodynia was observed. Contact of the needle with a nerve root may have caused an inflammatory response. The benefit of steroids in cases of nerve injury is still debatable. They likely decrease the levels of autoantibodies that delay nerve regeneration.

Keywords:

AllodyniaCesarean sectionHydrocortisoneParesthesiaSpinal anesthesiaSteroids
  • Year: 2021
  • Volume: 29 Issue: 2
  • Page/Article: 141-143
  • DOI: 10.4038/slja.v29i2.8703
  • Published on 16 Nov 2021
  • Peer Reviewed