Open AccessRetrobulbar Hemorrhage After 12,500 Retrobulbar Blocks
Author(s) -
Kenneth Edge,
Jonathon Nicoll
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
anesthesia and analgesia/anesthesia and analgesia
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.404
H-Index - 201
eISSN - 1526-7598
pISSN - 0003-2999
DOI - 10.1213/00000539-199305000-00019
Subject(s) - medicine , complication , surgery , incidence (geometry) , anesthesia , vascular disease , optics , physics
To determine the incidence of hemorrhage after retrobulbar nerve block, 12,500 consecutive cases were reviewed. Fifty-five retrobulbar hemorrhages occurred after retrobulbar injection, a prevalence of 1 in 227 (0.44%). This compares favorably with the quoted prevalence of 1%-3% in the literature. Acquired vascular disease was a significant risk factor (P < 0.017). Surgery was postponed in 41 (75%) of the cases in which a hemorrhage developed. Although retrobulbar hemorrhage is considered a serious complication of retrobulbar anesthesia, the eventual visual outcome after surgery in these patients was not significantly different from the control group.