1 Department of Anesthesiology, Nagoya University Graduate School and Faculty of Medicine, Tsuruma-cho 65, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan. 2 Department of Anesthesiology, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Nagakute, Aichi, 480-1195, Japan
* Corresponding author. E-mail: tomo{at}masuika.jp
Accepted for publication November 23, 2004.
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Abstract |
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Keywords: anaesthetic technique, regional ; stellate ganglion ; anatomy, stellate ganglion ; arterial pressure, hypertension
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Introduction |
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Case reports |
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Case 1
A 61-yr-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of numbness in the left side of her face. As she did not have any medical history, and appeared to suffer from left facial nerve palsy without any other symptoms, she was diagnosed as having idiopathic facial nerve palsy. The patient was to undergo SGB twice daily: morning and evening. On admission day 10, the systolic/diastolic arterial pressures (SDBP) of the patient increased from 130/78 to 230/140 mm Hg and she complained of a throbbing headache. ECG, neurological examinations, and CT scan of the head revealed no abnormalities. Urinary catecholamines were normal, excluding pheochromocytoma. Notably, we did not use local anaesthetics containing epinephrine in our clinic. Subsequent SGB by lidocaine 1% as a substitute for mepivacaine, also was associated with hypertension. As SDBP thereafter increased at every attempt, SGB was discontinued and oral steroid therapy was commenced.
Case 2
A 72-yr-old woman complained of excruciating headaches for several years. The neurologist diagnosed tension headache. As headache and stiff muscles in both shoulders were relieved by application of local anaesthetics, the patient was introduced to our outpatient clinic. Trigger point block in combination with SGB alleviated her neck stiffness effectively. On the third SGB attempt, SDBP elevated from 140/70 to 245/132 mm Hg. As SDBP did not decrease even after 1 h of rest, nasal drip with 5 mg nifedipine in divided doses decreased systolic arterial pressure to 140 mm Hg. After vital signs were restored to normal levels, the patient was allowed to go home. Subsequent SGB attempts often elevated her SDBP, and post-SGB hypertension was managed successfully with bed rest.
Case 3
A 56-yr-old woman complained of recurrent headache after a head injury at the age of 7 yr. Besides the head injury, she suffered from a gastric ulcer and uveitis because of Behcet's syndrome. Persistent headache, non-responsive to analgesics, originated from the right temporal region. Neurological abnormalities were not detected in various examinations conducted by the neurosurgeon. She was thus diagnosed as having traumatic right occipital pain. On the second SGB attempt, SDBP increased from 140/80 to 230/110 mm Hg 20 min after SGB. As the patient complained of giddiness, she was allowed to rest for 1 h. General signs stabilized when SDBP recovered to 167/94 mm Hg. From the third to the seventh SGB attempt, SDBP increased slightly from 140/80 to about 160/90 mm Hg. After the eighth SGB attempt, hypertension was alleviated with oral administration of a calcium channel antagonist (nitrendipine, 5 mg), and SGB slightly raised the SDBP from about 120/70 to 140/80 mm Hg. The headache was relieved and the patient was able to enjoy a higher quality of life without analgesics.
Case 4
A 57-yr-old woman with a previous history of diabetes mellitus complained of painful sensations on her left cheek. As neurological examinations did not reveal any abnormalities, she was diagnosed with atypical facial pain. Treatment with SGB was then initiated, and the area of pain gradually narrowed. On the 21st SGB, SDBP of 146/80 increased to 202/110 mm Hg accompanied by headache 10 min after SGB, and continued for about 1 h. The systolic arterial pressure attenuated to levels of 170 mm Hg after 1 h of resting. Subsequent attempts with SGB were done with close monitoring of BP. Symptoms were improved and therapy was terminated subsequently.
Case 5
A 71-yr-old woman with a previous history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension was infected with herpes zoster on her left upper limb (C6 region) 2 months previously. She complained of severe pain in her left upper extremity. Post-herpetic neuralgia was diagnosed. SGB was used as an analgesic therapy. On the third SGB attempt, SDBP gradually increased from 135/76 to 218/129 mm Hg accompanied by an increase in heart rate from 53 to 91 beats min1 45 min after SGB. The arterial pressure was normalized with nasal drip of 5 mg nifedipine. The patient had travelled a long distance to the clinic, and was thus admitted to the hospital and thereafter underwent continuous cervical epidural block for 3 weeks.
Case 6
A 26-yr-old woman, with a previous history of left radial fracture at the age of 17 yr, presented swelling of the left forearm since 18 yr of age. Symptoms were not relieved with surgical treatment of lymph-venous anastomosis, and she was diagnosed as suffering from lymph edema in the left upper limb. After continuous cervical epidural block for 3 weeks, pain and edema were dramatically relieved. SGB was substituted for epidural block and repeated on a daily basis. The patient complained of discomfort and hoarseness accompanied by elevated SDBP (196/121 mm Hg) with increased heart rate of 90 beats min1 after the sixth attempt. Follow-up observation after 1-h resting revealed normalized SDBP (138/94 mm Hg) and heart rate (82 beats min1). Hypertension did not occur thereafter.
Case 7
A 73-yr-old woman had a previous history of hypertension. She was diagnosed with post-herpetic neuralgia in the left thorax (T2 and T3 regions). As long-term continuous epidural block to relieve pain was no longer practical, SGB was used in place of continuous epidural block. On the 20th SGB procedure, she complained of throbbing headaches with SDBP elevated to near 200/100 mm Hg. Subsequent procedures increased SDBP, and prophylactic nifedipine was prescribed thereafter to prevent this.
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Discussion |
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Local anaesthetic application for SGB affords dissemination of the anaesthetic into adjacent tissues. As such, local anaesthetics might infiltrate the carotid sheath thus causing partial block of the vagus nerve.7 Furthermore, as local anaesthetics disseminate in a cephalic direction, blockades of baroreflex-sensitive carotid sinus at the bifurcation of the carotid artery as well as the sinus and glossopharyngeal nerves may eventually be induced. In addition, we used the transverse process of C6 as a landmark for SGB puncture, which is closer to the carotid sinus than the anterolateral border of C7 transverse process. As a result, afferent neural inputs associated with baroreflex might be attenuated enhancing efferent sympathetic output leading to hypertension.8 9
Studies that have examined the spread of local anaesthetic agents (using a higher volume than in our report), have documented several patterns of spread as well as frequent contact with the carotid sheath; however, no hypertension was reported.10 11 We need, therefore, an alternate explanation for the hypertension in addition to the anaesthetic effect of carotid sinus reflex. A possibility is that the local anaesthetic spread to the vagus nerve thus causing unopposed cardiac sympathetic stimulation.8
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References |
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