Flaccid paraparesis following obstetrical epidural anesthesia: possible role of benzyl alcohol.

Severe flaccid paraplegia accompanied by extensive sensory loss after epidural anesthesia administered for labor and delivery occurred in a previously healthy 24-year-old primagravida. Recovery was virtually complete after 16 months. The cause of the neurologic deficits may have been the 1.5 percent benzyl alcohol preservative contained in an 0.9 percent saline solution used for postdelivery epidural injection.