“Blocked” Epidural Catheter: Another Cause

Case study: An unusual cause of clotted blood in epidural catheter

“…1 Defective connection assembly or failure to insert the catheter properly into the connection assembly can also result in the failure of a well-placed epidural. 2 We report a case in which epidural analgesia was planned to provide intra-and postoperative pain relief. After the initial successful administration of a drug for intraoperative analgesia, further administrations could not be injected.…”

Intraluminal obstruction of epidural catheter due to manufacturing defect

“…[4] Resistance in drug flow in catheters could be because of improper connection of catheter and injector assembly,[5] clot in the catheter,[6] kinking of catheter, knotting of catheter,[6] or manufacturing defect in catheter assembly/catheter itself. [7]…”

Malfunctioning catheter connector: An unusual and rare cause of epidural catheter blockade

“…Failure to inject drugs through malfunctioning epidural catheter has been reported,[12] but blockade caused by malfunctioning click and ready connector has not been reported in literature. The connector (click and ready) has two parts.…”