One hundred (100) consecutive patients who underwent spinal analgesia for surgical and orthopaedic operations were studied. Postural headache occurred in 9% of patients, the majority in those cases where large bore (l8G to 21G) needless were used. No other neurological complications were encountered. Conservative measures provided some relief of the headache. Epidural blood patch was found to be effective.
Thirty-one (31) patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) over a three-week period in October 1982 in the Psychiatric Unit, University Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, were studied. The main indications for ECT in these patients were poor response to drug therapy, depression with suicidal ideation, and aggression, which together accounted for 87 percent of all patients started on ECT during this period. The majority of patients (86 percent) showed some improvement, and 73 percent improved by the third ECT. The most common side-effects experienced by patients were memory disturbance (45 percent) and post ECT headache (45 percent). No serious side-effects were encountered.