Postmortem findings after epidural anaesthesia.

Postmortem specimens of 10 patients who had received continuous epidural anaesthesia postoperatively (ranging from 2-21 days) were examined. Slight epidural haemorrhage was observed in six patients and a macroscopically visible haematoma in a thrombocytopenic patient. Nonspecific epidural inflammatory reactions were observed microscopically in all patients. Specimens from seven patients with systemic infection showed signs of epidural infection. No similar pathology was found in a control group without epidural catheters. The aetiology and risk factors of the above findings are discussed, and recommendations given to prevent such sequelae after epidural anaesthesia.