BACKGROUND: Accidental dural puncture (ADP) and subsequent post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) remain common complications of epidural procedures for obstetric anesthesia and analgesia. No clear consensus exists on the best way to prevent PDPH after ADP.
METHODS: We report our findings in twenty parturients who underwent an incorporated strategy of epidural analgesia followed by epidural hydroxyethyl starch (HES) to prevent PDPH after ADP with a 16-gauge Tuohy needle during epidural procedures. ADP with a 16-gauge Tuohy needle occurred in nine parturients undergoing a cesarean section (CS) and in eleven parturients receiving labor analgesia. An epidural catheter was re-sited at the same or adjacent intervertebral space in all patients. After CS, the epidural catheter was used for postoperative pain relief over a 48-h period. After delivery in eleven cases, epidural infusion was maintained for 24 h. Thereafter, 15 mL of 6% HES 130/0.4 was administered via the epidural catheter immediately prior to catheter removal. None of the parturients developed PDPH or neurologic deficits over a follow-up period of at least two months to up to one year postpartum.
CONCLUSIONS: An incorporated strategy of epidural analgesia followed by epidural hydroxyethyl starch may have great efficacy in preventing PDPH after ADP.

How to cite this article: Tyagi N. Where Has All the \"HES\" Gone: A Case in Point vs \"Crusade\" to Obscurity. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(11):1012-1013.

Epidural injection of hydroxyethyl starch may be a suitable alternative for treatment of post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) if epidural blood patch is contraindicated. We reported eight consecutive female patients with accidental dural puncture (ADP), among whom prophylactic or therapeutic epidural injection of hydroxyethyl starch was performed. Prophylactic epidural injection of hydroxyethyl starch 20 ml was conducted once a day for two days, without sufentanil supplementation, and mild PDPH took place in three of four patients. Prophylactic epidural injection of hydroxyethyl starch 20 ml combined with sufentanil 5 μg were performed once a day for two days in three patients, and no PDPH happened. Therapeutic epidural injection of hydroxyethyl starch 20 ml combined with sufentanil 5 μg were carried out once a day for 3 days in the patient whom relatively severe PDPH had occurred. Further prospective studies of epidural injection of hydroxyethyl starch in patients with ADP are required to create evidence-based clinical guidelines for safe practice.

Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) solutions are synthetic non-protein colloid solutions used to treat hypovolemia. However, their use is not free from the risk of allergic reactions. A 42-year-old male was scheduled to undergo aortic-iliac-femoral bypass surgery for the treatment of arteriosclerosis obliterans. He had no history of allergy. Two hours after the start of surgery, and within minutes after HES administration, facial erythema, hypotension and bronchospasm developed. HES infusion was discontinued under the estimation of anaphylaxis. The patient received phenylephrine, ephedrine, diphenhydramine and hydrocortisone with hydration. After restoration of vital signs, surgery was performed without complications.