Which and what headache were we treating? Epidural blood patch for atypical headache following obstetric epidural anaesthesia

We present a case of headache following epidural anaesthesia for caesarean section. The patient did not exhibit the classical features of post dural p uncture headache and the cause was uncertain. The headache was complicated by post partum seizure and a history of pregnancy-induced hypertension. A d iagnostic lumbar puncture had to be done to exclude meningitis as she had a raised white blood count. An epidural blood patch performed 12 days post p artum resolved the headache immediately. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.