Epidural Depth in Geriatric Patients

Jung, Yong Hun; Park, Jung Won

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Nowadays the number of geriatric patients continues to increase, and lumbar epidural blocks are frequently requested for operation in geriatric patients. The depth of the epidural space varies from patient to patient, and also varies at different levels of the spinal column in the same patient. We studied the distance from the skin to the lumbar epidural space in geriatric patients to determine whether there is any systematic relationship between physical parameters and distance from the skin to the epidural space. METHODS: We measured L3-4, L4-5 and L5-S1 epidural depth in 602 geriatric patients when the block was done successfully. Height, weight, and age were obtained from medical records. Physical parameters such as body mass index (BMI), Broca's index and weight/height were calculated. Pearson's correlation analysis and regression testing were used to analyze relations between epidural depth and physical parameters. RESULTS: The epidural depths at the L3-4, L4-5 and L5-S1 intervertebral spaces were 4.62 +/- 0.71, 4.51 +/-0.72 and 4.02 +/-0.50 cm, respectively. A significant correlation was found between the epidural depth and, weight, BMI, Broca's index, and the weight/height ratio. CONCLUSIONS: No disparity was found between epidural depth in geriatric patients and young adults, and significant correlations were found between epidural depth and BMI, weight, Broca's index and weight/height ratio. BMI showed the highest correlation coefficient with epidural depth.