Intérêt de l'échographie pour la réalisation d'un blood patch

Ultrasound guidance is an opportunity to improve the reliability of blood patch. Ultrasound scanning in the sagittal median plane and the transverse plane allows determining the appropriate intervertebral space and the distance of the epidural space from the skin. Needle insertion can be guided in the sagittal paramedian internal oblique plane. Injection of blood leads to an enlargement of the epidural space and a compression of the dural sac. Ultrasonographic measurement of the change in the diameter of the optical nerve sheath contributes to assess the increase in intracranial pressure resulting from blood injection and to predict the efficacy of the blood patch.