Transient acute respiratory failure and thoracic epidural anesthesia

A case is reported of acute respiratory failure occurring during upper abdominal surgery in a patient not previously known to have chronic respiratory failure. Preoperatively, this 68 year old patient presented with mild obesity, slight effort dyspnoea and paralysis of the right hemidiaphragm, a sequela of polytrauma she suffered the year before. Respiratory tests were not considered useful with regard to the results of clinical examination. Moreover, she had already several previous general anaesthetics without any problems. A thoracic epidural anaesthesia was performed with a mixture of 150 mg lidocaine, 37.5 mg bupivacaine with adrenaline and 100 micrograms fentanyl, injected in the T8-T9 epidural space via a catheter. Ten minutes after the starting of surgery, the patient became agitated and complained of difficulty in breathing. Blood gas analysis showed hypercapnia, with respiratory acidosis (Pao2: 28.19 kPa; Paco2: 9.2 kPa; pH 7.273). Clinical examination revealed a bilateral Horner syndrome (T1-T4 sympathetic blockade). The patient was intubated and ventilated after adequate sedation. She was extubated 3 h 30 min after the initial epidural injection. Epidural analgesia was maintained during 72 h, with 0.1% bupivacaine, with no recurrence of respiratory failure.