Abstract

RODRIGUEZ, R. F.  and  ISAZA, A. M. Ángel. Severe hypertension and tachycardia after a stellate blockage: a case report. Rev. Soc. Esp. Dolor [online]. 2008, vol.15, n.8, pp.509-511. ISSN 1134-8046.

Stellate Ganglion Block is a procedure frequently used to alleviate chronic pain from the upper limb, head and neck. Complications of this procedure are uncommon but when they occur generally have a mild severity and short duration. The most reported complications are: temporal dysphony and hematomas. Because the stellate ganglion is near important structures of the neck; such as the phrenic, laryngeal and vagus nerves and big arteries, the distribution of local anesthe-tic can affect one or more of these structures. We describe the clinical case of a 39 years old woman with complex regional pain syndrome in the left upper limb. A stellate ganglion block was perform with 10 ml of procaine 1% without epinephrine, some minutes later she develops a severe hypertension and tachycardia, the arterial pressure of the patient increased from 135/80 to 235/135 mm Hg. Few cases of severe hypertension and tachycardia after stellate ganglion block have been reported in literature. The anesthetic may have disseminated to structures in the neck that play an important function in the maintenance of the arterial pressure, such as the carotid sinus and glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves. The blockage may have produced an unopposed sympathetic activity.

Keywords : Stellate Ganglion; Stellate Ganglion Block; Severe hypertension.

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