Korean J Anesthesiol.  2005 Jan;48(1):99-103. 10.4097/kjae.2005.48.1.99.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest Following Cervical Facet Joint Injection: A case report

• Seo YS
• Kim JH
• Lim CH
• Lim HJ
• Lee HW
• Yoon SM
• Chang SH
• Chae IJ

• KMID: 2091963
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2005.48.1.99

Abstract

The common disorder called facet syndrome exhibits back pain, with or without referred or radiating pain due to facet joint arthropathy. Facet joint injection using local anesthetics is a reliable method for the diagnosis and treatment for facet syndrome. Because the complications secondary to facet block have usually been temporary and infrequent, facet block has been known as a simple and safe procedure. But spinal anesthesia is a serious complication of facet block and can lead to a life threatening conditions. The authors report a patient who developed un-explainable cardiac arrest following facet joint injection. A 64 year-old woman with 4-year history of cervical facet syndrome was admitted for the fourth facet block. Cardiac arrest followed with unconsciousness and apnea occurred 4 minutes after cervical facet joint injection with 2 ml of 2% lidocaine. The patient was immediately resuscitated and recovered without any sequelae. Sudden cardiac arrest can be unexpectedly developed during facet block, and we recommend close monitoring during cervical facet joint block.

Keyword

complications; facet joint block; lidocaine; spinal anesthesia

MeSH Terms

Anesthesia, Spinal
Anesthetics, Local
Apnea
Back Pain
Death, Sudden, Cardiac*
Diagnosis
Female
Heart Arrest
Humans
Lidocaine
Middle Aged
Unconsciousness
Zygapophyseal Joint*
Anesthetics, Local
Lidocaine