CEREBRAL PNEUMATOCELE AFTER SPINAL-ANESTH ESIA - A RARE COMPLICATION

A case is reported of pneumoencephalus occurring after an accidental d ural puncture during a cervical epidural puncture using the loss of re sistance technique. Six ml of air were injected intrathecally. The pat ient recovered spontaneously within five days. This complication may o ccur more frequently than commonly admitted. It may be difficult to di fferentiate between headache due to pneumoencephalus and that by stret ching of the meninges due to cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Only a CT sc an can help to answer this question.