ADHESIVE arachnoiditis following spinal anesthesia is a well-recognized entity and has been well documented by Kennedy and associates,* Yaskin and Alpers,3 and Thorsen.4 The reason for its development is not clear, and it has been variously attributed to the effects of the anesthetic, to impurities, and to associated infection. It is possible that the cause is not the same in all instances, but experience with a fatal case of extensive, severe adhesive arachnoiditis raised the possibility that a hitherto not widely recognized pathogenic agent may have played an inciting role. The agent in question was a commercially available detergent cleaning material, Alconox, which had been used in the preparation of the anesthetic equipment. It is possible that the Alconox alone or the synergistic action of a surface-active agent and the anesthetic may have been responsible for the arachnoiditis.
REPORT OF A CASE
History.
—S. F., a 54-year-old married