Sodium Nitroprusside and Epidural Blockade in the Treatment of Ergotism

Abstract
The treatment of vasospasm during ergotism has been difficult and unconvincing.1 2 3 A combination of hyperbaric oxygen and sympathetic blockade by means of continuous epidural anesthesia has been claimed to have some effect in limiting the ischemic peripheral gangrene induced by ergotism.4 Carliner and his co-workers1 reported a case of ergotism with extreme peripheral ischemia successfully and rapidly treated with continuous infusion of sodium nitroprusside. The two cases of ergotism presented below were treated with sodium nitroprusside in combination with continuous epidural anesthesia.Case ReportsCase 1 (Fig. 1). A 58-kg 44-year-old woman with a moderate intake of ergotamine owing to . . .

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