Background and Goal of Study: Epidural analgesia is a widely used method in the treatment of postoperative pain. Its increasing use is due to the high efficacy and low rate of associated complications.1 The objective of this study was to evaluate the records of the Acute Pain Service (APS) of Divino Espírito Santo Hospital (DESH) over a period of 5 years, in order to know:
1) number of epidural catheters used for post operative analgesia;
2) complications associated with their use.
Materials and Methods: Retrospective study using an Excel database of APS registries from June 2011 to September 2016.
Results and Discussion: 
1) During the referred period the APS followed a total of 10866 patients, to which 29778 follow-up visits were performed. 4010 epidural catheters were used for intra and postoperative analgesia. 
2) Trought the analysis of the records we were able to identify 189 complications associated with the catheter or drugs administered by the epidural route including: 99 accidental exteriorizations, 21 episodes of severe hypotension, 11 cases of nausea and vomiting, 10 punctures of the dura mater, 9 non-functioning catheters and 9 cases of severe pruritus. There were also 8 deaths while undergoing analgesic protocol, 5 cases of paresthesia of lower limbs, 4 urinary retentions, 2 cases of hallucinations and 2 of bradycardia. We also identified other 9 isolated cases of complications.
Conclusions: Epidural analgesia is not free of risks and complications, so that the audits of the registries performed are important. From the analysis performed it was possible to get the following conclusions:
- In Divino Espirito Santo Hospital epidural analgesia is a widely used method for the treatment of acute postoperative pain;
- There was no mortality or morbidity directly associated with the placement and use of epidural catheters.
- Incomplete or missing records are a limitation to the full assessment of the reported complications and their systematic implementation should be encouraged among all service providers
References: 
1) MJ Paech, R. Godkin, Complications of obstetric epidural analgesia and anaesthesia: a prospective analysis of 10 995 cases; in International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia; vol 7, issue 1, 1998;
2) R. Baraz, R.E. Collis; The management of accidental dural puncture during labour epidural analgesia: a survey of UK practic, in Anesthesia, vol 60, issue 7, 2005

Analysis of complications associated with epidural analgesia – a 5-year audit