Pneumocephaly from epidural anesthesia.

An elderly woman who had spinal epidural anesthesia thereafter had headache, anorexia, nausea and vomiting, dehydration, seizures, and cardiovascular collapse. CAT scan revealed air in the posterior fossa, probably caused by intradural injection of air during epidural anesthesia. We propose that this may be an occasional cause of headache or more substantial complications after epidural anesthesia, and suggest that CAT scanning may be helpful in identifying this complication.