Background & Aim: Epidural analgesia is one of the commonest modes for providing postoperative analgesia after surgery and epidural space infection is a major concern despite low incidence. We prospectively studied the incidence of bacterial colonization of epidural catheters, infection and also investigated any potential risk for colonization.
Methods: 180 patients of both sexes, older than 20 years receiving patient controlled epidural analgesia for postoperative pain management were recruited in this prospective study. Epidural catheter tips of patients receiving analgesia for longer than 48 hrs were cultured semi quantitatively. Regression analysis was used to find correlation between potential risk factor and epidural colonization.
Results: Out of 180 tips cultured, 167(92.8%) were sterile whereas 13 (7.2%) were colonized predominantly with coagulase negative Staphylococcus epidermidis (61.5%). Out of porential risk factors, duration of catheterization showed significant correlation with colonization (p<0.05). None of the patients exhibited signs or symptoms of local or epidural space infection.
Conclusion: 7.2% of epidural catheter tips had positive culture, leading organism being coagulase negative Staphylococcus epidermidis. Colonization was related with time for which catheter remained in place. Despite colonization no patient developed epidural space infection.