POSTOPERATIVE GUILLAIN-BARRE-SYNDROME, ARACHNOIDITIS, AND EPIDURAL ANALGESIA

Background and Objectives. A 58-year-old man developed progressive neu rologic symptoms following a surgical procedure and postoperative epid ural analgesia. Methods. Neurologic evaluation, magnetic resonance ima ging, computed tomography, and electromyography indicated the presence of both arachnoiditis and Guillain-Barre syndrome. The patient was tr eated with plasmapheresis and methylprednisone. Results. The patient b egan to show clinical and electromyographic recovery but was lost to f ollow-up after his transfer to a rehabilitation facility. Conclusions. Anesthesiologists should be aware of the possible postoperative occur rence of rare neurologic disorders, both in patients who have received epidural analgesia and in those who have not, but they should not be deterred from using epidural analgesia by this isolated case.