An incidental finding of xanthochromia during spinal anaesthesia in a patient posted for lower limb surgery

Abstract

Xanthochromia is the yellowish discoloration of cerebrospinal fluid associated with serious conditions like subarachnoid haemorrhage and spinal cord tumour which raises concerns regarding safety when presented during spinal anaesthesia. There is limited literature regarding the clinical implications of spinal anaesthesia in xanthochromia. We report a case of a 31-year-old male patient with an incidental finding of xanthochromia cerebrospinal fluid during spinal anaesthesia. The patient with a history of fall was posted for lower limb orthopaedic surgery under subarachnoid block. In the process of administering the block, the pale yellow coloured cerebrospinal fluid was encountered. We conclude that proceeding with spinal anaesthesia in xanthochromia should be at the discretion of the anaesthesiologist and further investigations for the diagnosis can be considered for the management in such cases.