Complications of Nausea, Vomiting, and Headache after Epidural Steroid Injection in Two Elderly Patients after Multilevel Lumbar Surgery: A Case Series

Sogol  Asgari; Seyed Sam Mehdi  Hosseininasab; Hasanali  Ahmadi; Faranak  Behnaz

doi:10.18502/aacc.v12i4.21808

Sogol Asgari Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Seyed Sam Mehdi Hosseininasab Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hasanali Ahmadi Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Faranak Behnaz Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/aacc.v12i4.21808

Keywords: Epidural injection; Steroid; Post-injection headache; Epidural complications; Furosemide; Hypertonic saline

Abstract

Epidural steroid injection is an effective method for controlling spinal radicular pain. However, in elderly patients with a history of lumbar fusion surgery, anatomical changes can lead to complications such as headache, nausea, and vomiting after the injection. In this report, two patients, 70 and 75 years old, with a history of multilevel lumbar fusion surgery who developed these complications after epidural injection are presented. Conservative treatment, including furosemide and 3% hypertonic saline, was associated with complete improvement of symptoms.