What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to highlight diagnostic challenges in distinguishing pneumorrhachis from serious spinal pathologies following epidural analgesia.

Acute paraplegia following epidural analgesia: diagnostic pitfalls in distinguishing pneumorrhachis from surgical mass lesions. Illustrative case

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Illustrative case reveals complications from epidural air that mimic urgent spinal conditions, highlighting critical diagnostics.

The study aims to highlight diagnostic challenges in distinguishing pneumorrhachis from serious spinal pathologies following epidural analgesia.
Case description of a 68-year-old male with acute paraplegia after thoracic epidural analgesia.
Emergency MRI and surgical exploration were conducted to identify the cause of neurological deterioration.
Root cause analysis was performed to identify mechanisms of inadvertent air delivery during the procedure.
Emergency MRI revealed a dorsal epidural collection at T11-12 interpreted as a spinal abscess but was found to be epidural air during surgery.
The patient's neurological function improved rapidly following surgical decompression.
Root cause analysis identified residual air in the infusion cassette as the cause of the epidural air delivery.

Sommernes et al. (2026) studied this question.

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View Full Paper

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Authors

Illustrative case reveals complications from epidural air that mimic urgent spinal conditions, highlighting critical diagnostics.

The study aims to highlight diagnostic challenges in distinguishing pneumorrhachis from serious spinal pathologies following epidural analgesia.
Case description of a 68-year-old male with acute paraplegia after thoracic epidural analgesia.
Emergency MRI and surgical exploration were conducted to identify the cause of neurological deterioration.
Root cause analysis was performed to identify mechanisms of inadvertent air delivery during the procedure.
Emergency MRI revealed a dorsal epidural collection at T11-12 interpreted as a spinal abscess but was found to be epidural air during surgery.
The patient's neurological function improved rapidly following surgical decompression.
Root cause analysis identified residual air in the infusion cassette as the cause of the epidural air delivery.

Sommernes et al. (2026) studied this question.

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