AANA Journal course. 15: new technologies in anesthesia: update for nurse anesthetists--continuous spinal anesthesia.

The production of microcatheters small enough to be threaded through 22- to 26-gauge spinal needles has focused renewed attention on the technique of continuous spinal anesthesia. This technique has a specific combination of advantages which cannot be duplicated by any other method of regional blockade. The most important of these advantages is that sensory blockade can be produced quickly and precisely with small doses of local anesthetic, that the duration of anesthesia can be extended indefinitely, and that recovery is rapid when short-acting local anesthetics are used. Inadequate anesthesia, failure to thread the catheter, catheter breakage, prolonged neurologic deficits (e.g., cauda equina syndrome), and postdural puncture headache are uncommon complications. This installment of the AANA Journal Course will explore the latest developments regarding this emerging regional technique.