Abstract
We report our results on the management of indwelling epidural catheters in our out-patients over a three year period (from April 1992). Thirty-five out-patients (17 males and 18 females) were included in our study. Patients were able to visit our pain clinic daily, except on Sundays. The average age was 58 years old (range 18-82 years old). Their diagnoses were herpes zoster (n=29), lumbago or pain in the lower extremities (n=4), causalgia (n=1), and brachial plexus damage (n=1). Catheter was inserted into the cervical (n=8), the thoracic (n=19), or the lumbar (n=8) vertebral space. The average duration of the indwelling epidural catheterization was 41 days (range 2-351 days). Among those, three catheters had been indwelt for more than 100 days. The indwelling of the epidural catheters was discontinued because of the remission of the disease (n=20), the hospitalization (n=8), or the suspicion of a catheter-related infection (n=2). For the diagnosis of catheter-related infection, pains triggered by the local anesthetic injections into the epidural space were monitored on a six-days a week basis. The results may indicate that the long term out-patient management of the epidural catheterization is possible when early diagnosis of the infections is intensively monitored.
