Researchers from the Bath Royal United Hospital in the UK have found that the risk of harm from epidural or spinal anaesthesia is around one in 23 000, at least ten times lower than previously thought. They found this by analysing the complications of 700 000 of the procedures that are given each year in the UK.
The team used data from all hospitals in the UK and found that only between 13 and 40 patients had permanent complications from the procedures.
Of those injured, between five and 13 were paralysed and three to six died, the British Journal of Anaesthesia reported.
Most complications were judged to have been unavoidable - a result of an individual's reaction to the procedure rather than the way it was carried out.
Researchers said expectant mothers, in particular, should not be overly concerned as their risk of permanent harm was as low a one in 80 000.
