Retrobulbar Hemorrhage After 12,500 Retrobulbar Blocks

• Published in: Anesthesia and analgesia Vol. 76; no. 5; pp. 1019 - 1022
• Main Authors: Edge, Kenneth R., V. Nicoll, J. Martin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD International Anesthesia Research Society 01.05.1993; Lippincott
• Subjects: Aged; Anesthesia; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Female; Hemorrhage - epidemiology; Hemorrhage - etiology; Humans; Incidence; Local anesthesia. Pain (treatment); Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nerve Block - adverse effects; Orbit - innervation; Orbital Diseases - epidemiology; Orbital Diseases - etiology; Retrospective Studies; Saudi Arabia - epidemiology; Saudi Arabia; Human; Local anesthesia; Risk factor; Blocking; Complication; Hemorrhage; Retrobulbar; Incidence
• ISSN: 0003-2999; 1526-7598
• DOI: 10.1213/00000539-199305000-00019

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.